


Brother's Keeper

by tevans41



Series: NCIS: All in the Family [3]
Category: NCIS
Genre: Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-03-24
Updated: 2013-03-24
Packaged: 2017-12-06 09:52:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 24,672
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/734331
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tevans41/pseuds/tevans41
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Gibbs, DiNozzo, and McGee are assigned to protect a Hamas defector. Can they keep him alive long enough to debrief? This is the companion story for Sister Act.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. One

Walking through the terminal at Washington National Airport, Gibbs told Tony to go ahead and head home. He had something to take care of before heading back to the office. When the two separated, Gibbs headed for the coffee bar and took a seat at a table where a man sat reading a newspaper.

"You could have tried to be less conspicuous," he said to the man who continued to read the paper.

"Yes," the man said. "And you could have ignored my request."

"Black," Gibbs said to the waiter who appeared at his shoulder, "no sugar."

"I really need your help Jethro." The man said lowering his newspaper.

"I figured that." Gibbs said getting a look at the defeated appearance of Deputy Director Jerome Craig.

"We'll need to bring in McGee and DiNozzo too." Craig said.

"We can't leave the squad room short like that."

"SecNav and Leon have already signed off on it. He's bringing in a few agents to handle the office for a week."

"When?"

"Just after New Year."

"What's the op?"

"It's a protection detail."

"Ziva would-"

"Not be an option," Craig said. "The subject is Hamas, well former Hamas. An Israeli would spook him."

Gibbs leaned back in his chair and allowed the waiter to set his coffee in front of him. He opened the file Craig handed him and read. "I'll tell them after Christmas." He said standing up and grabbing his bag and the coffee cup.

_.-~=}])*([{=~-._

"McGee, DiNozzo," Vance called from the balcony. "Conference room." As the two junior agents made their way to the conference room, Gibbs stepped over to Ziva's desk.

"We have an assignment coming up," he said to her.

"That is great," Ziva said. "What do you need me to do?"

"Take a vacation."

"I-" Ziva started and shook her head slightly. "What?"

"The assignment is a protection detail for a Hamas defector."

Ziva looked sideways in thought then nodded slightly. "And having an Israeli on the protection detail would be uncomfortable."

"I'd rather have all of us." Gibbs said.

"Well, obviously I would be well suited for the assignment." Ziva said. "However, if someone is defecting Hamas, they will be less forthcoming in front of someone they suspect could be sending the information straight to Tel-Aviv."

"You o.k. with this?"

"Of course. It will give me some time to relax. Maybe go to the gym, take in a show. At the risk of sounding too soft, I can have a little 'me time'."

Gibbs smiled as he turned and headed for the conference room. "Your vacation starts Sunday."

When Gibbs entered the conference room, he saw that Leon and Craig were already present and waiting. He took his seat beside of DiNozzo and watched as Leon stood up.

"Gibbs," Vance began. "You already know Deputy Director Craig. DiNozzo, McGee, consider this your introduction. We tentatively scheduled this assignment to begin on Sunday, however, if the target arrives sooner, well… Jerome?"

"Last week," Craig began as he rose from his seat. "Daoud Yassin was assassinated outside of his home. Although they have not taken credit for it, evidence indicates Hamas militants pulled the trigger. Hamas wants Palestine to end the cease-fire with Israel and start an all-out war."

"But Yassin was working on peaceful relations with Israel," McGee said.

"Correct, and without him, Israel is backing away from peace talks. Although the Fatah Party wants a free Palestine as much as Hamas, they believe that they can achieve that quicker with peaceful resolutions rather than with fighting that would eventually cost so many lives that there would be no more Palestinian Muslims to govern.

"In the wake of the assassination, Hamas is moving to take over the entire political structure within Palestine. There is one exception. The son of one of Palestine's Prime Ministers approached the U.S. Embassy in Riyadh requesting asylum. He offered information on Hamas's plans and military operations within the region."

"So shouldn't the CIA be handling his defection?" DiNozzo asked.

"They are." Craig answered. "However, the subject asked specifically for NCIS to handle his security during his debriefing."

"So we're going to Saudi Arabia." McGee said.

"Wrong," Vance said. "The subject is refusing to debrief until he is stateside."

"So he gets here on Sunday?"

"Monday," Jerome said. "The three of you will begin setting up the safe house and the security protocols. Sunday your assignment begins with a walkthrough before the subject arrives."

"So who's the subject?" DiNozzo asked.

"His name is Ahmad al-Zuhri."

DiNozzo and McGee stared at Craig then looked to Vance and Gibbs for confirmation. "But he's Salam al-Zuhri's son." DiNozzo said. "Salam is the guy that sent those suicide bombers into Tel-Aviv last year."

"Why would his son defect?" McGee asked.

"I presume we'll find out Monday." Craig answered. "I'll get back with everyone Sunday to go over the plans and do the walkthrough."

The team rose as Craig and Vance left the room. Tony looked at Gibbs and shook his head. Gibbs shrugged and let them out of the conference room. As the trio returned to the squad area, Gibbs nearly bumped into Abby who was pacing back and forth in front of his desk.

"Gibbs," Abby said stopping dead in her tracks. "I need to take tomorrow off."

"Everything alright Abs?" Gibbs asked.

"No," she answered. "Sister Agnes form my bowling league died yesterday. She had a stroke." Gibbs pulled her to him and hugged her.

"Do you need anything?" he asked.

"No," she said. "I just need to be there for Sister Rosita and the others."

"Do you want me to drive you home?"

"No," she said. "Kyle's downstairs. He's taking me to the convent."

"O.k." Gibbs said. "Call me if you need me."

As Abby got into the elevator, Gibbs sat at his computer and opened the file he'd built over the past week and a half. It had taken a couple of discreet calls using back channels to get this information without alerting Vance, Craig or any other agencies. Ahmad al-Zuhri's movements the past six months didn't indicate that he was planning to defect. That was good. Unfortunately, it looked like someone suspected. A Mossad listening post picked up some chatter about al-Zuhri. It looked like someone wanted him dead.

_.-~=}])*([{=~-._

Leon Vance sat at his desk reading a file similar to the one Gibbs had compiled. Jerome Craig sat across from him ready to answer any questions his boss may have. While Vance went over the information, Craig busied himself by sending a couple of texts.

"So tell me the truth," Vance said closing the folder. "Why did NCIS pull protection duty?"

"Just like I said Leon," Craig answered. "Ahmad al-Zuhri requested that NCIS handle his protection while he is stateside."

"And no one knows why?" Leon asked.

"According to Neil Wooten, the Middle East SAC," Craig said. "Ahmad has made several trips to Riyadh in the last three years. They had him under surveillance because he became friends with several Marines at the U.S. Embassy there. Wooten suspected he was trying to flip a couple of them."

"And now al-Zuhri is defecting from Hamas." Vance said.

"Yeah, I didn't think it was a coincidence either." Craig said digging a thick folder out of his briefcase. "This is why I arranged for every Marine at the Embassy to be replaced. They're on their way to Quantico now. The base commander order them confined to billets upon arrival pending investigation. I've tasked Harmon's team to investigate."

"About that," Vance said. "Why did you choose Harmon to head the MCRT while Gibbs is on assignment?"

"He's a good agent and a top notch investigator."

"And the fact that de Pablo works with him has no bearing."

"That's not an issue," Craig said standing up. "She's got her life and I have mine. We settled that issue years ago."

"Mm," Vance said. "Just find out if those Marines have been compromised." As Craig stepped towards the door, Vance concluded, "And make sure Gibbs doesn't find out about Harmon. They can't stand each other."

_.-~=}])*([{=~-._

Lance Corporal Melinda Lopez felt more anxiety the closer they got to Virginia. It wasn't official, but she knew that she was the reason her entire detachment left Riyadh yesterday. Somehow, the Embassy or the Corps found out what she did. She looked across at her commander, Gunny Dukes. He was asleep, of course. What was it about NCOs that they could sleep anywhere? Lopez knew that no matter what the Corps did to her, she could not live with herself until she came clear to Dukes and got his forgiveness.

"Gunny," she said. "I need to talk to you before we land." Dukes opened his eyes and turned his head toward her.

"So talk." He told her.

_.-~=}])*([{=~-._

McGee had several windows open on each of his monitors analyzing everything from weather forecasts to traffic patterns throughout the district. His fingers flew across the keyboard as he brought up blueprints for the safe house and response time for the various law enforcement agencies.

"Let's go Tony," Gibbs said grabbing his Sig Sauer from his desk drawer.

"What's going on Boss?" Tony said clipping his own weapon to his belt.

"We're hittin' the gym."

McGee looked up in time to see Tony mouth the word "Damn". As the elevator closed on them, he returned to his work with a smile.

"Do not look so relieved McGee," Ziva said from her own desk. "You and I will be working out next." McGee stared at her with his mouth opened for a moment before returning to his work with a gulp.

_.-~=}])*([{=~-._

McGee breathed easier. He made it home presumably with Ziva forgetting that they were going to work out. He stowed his backpack by the door and went to his room to lock his weapon in the safe. He changed out of his suit and put on an old t-shirt and pair of shorts before heading back into the living room. He looked longingly at his typewriter wanting to write a few paragraphs of his latest story. Unfortunately, he had other things to do. Booting up his computer, he stepped into the kitchen to grab a couple of hot pockets and toss them into the microwave.

He glanced into the living room and saw his login screen was already loaded and ready for him to do some work. _More work,_ he reminded himself. He grabbed his hot pockets from the microwave and a bottle of soda from the fridge and headed to his workstation. He'd already emailed his gamer friends, informing them that he would be offline for a few days, so he could save some time by not loading his social network pages.

After taking a bite of his food, he brought up the NCIS website and logged in using his remote access account. From here, he was able to access the files he was working on at the office. He wasn't worried that someone could intercept his work. Between NCIS security and his own security protocols, it would take several teams of hackers several decades to break through the firewalls to see what he was doing. That's not to say he was able to work unobserved. He knew that the NCIS servers monitored his every keystroke. The servers keystroke logging compounded the possibility that a live agent may watch to make sure he was not putting the agency or any of its information at risk.

McGee checked the status of his equipment requisitions and saw that they were set to clear the next day, pending Director Vance's approval. This was standard but didn't concern McGee as the Director placed high priority on the assignment. What did concern him was something that had nothing to do with work. Well, it didn't directly involve work. He went over the plans for the safe house once again and left a note for himself to drive the routes tomorrow and input more data into the system for arranging al-Zurhi's transportation to and from the State Department Building. With that, he logged off and picked up his phone.

_.-~=}])*([{=~-._

Tony smiled as he pulled up in front of Ziva's apartment. Normally for this kind of visit, he'd have McGee, Abby or both in tow. Unfortunately, Abs was with the nuns and McSafety went home to continue setting up security for the safe house and al-Zuhri. Tony did call to check in on Abs before leaving the office. He was glad her brother was with her. The poor kid needs some sanity with her after losing someone close to her. He remembered all too clearly how she was when they lost Kate. Hell if anyone took it harder than her did, it was Abby.

_But that's the past,_ he told himself, though not convincingly. Now, I get my first visit to Ziva's solo. As he headed for the front door, he glanced in her window to see her reading in a corner. He went into the foyer of the building and turned right to Ziva's door. He rang her bell and leaned on the doorframe.

"Hey," Tony said when she opened her door. "Got a few minutes?"

_.-~=}])*([{=~-._


	2. Two

Tony was in early this morning. After leaving Ziva's last night, he was tempted to run out and get some props with which to taunt her. He decided however, that subtlety would be more fun. With that thought, he went straight home, and after getting a good night's sleep, he came in early and managed to get some work caught up. He read the complete dossier on Ahmad al-Zuhri and brought up a map of the area so he could get an idea about the routes they would take getting him from the safe house to the State Department and back. He realized that he needed to help set up the safe house for an extended stay.

"Guy's gonna have to eat." He said as he got up and headed upstairs to Director Vance's office. As he entered Vance's outer office, he saw that the director's secretary Pam was already hard at work.

"Pamela," he said as he stepped in. "Is Craig in with the director?"

"Yes," Ms. Cook said. "He's giving Leon all of his files on the protection detail before he leaves for Brussels."

"Brussels?"

"What can I say?" she asked with a shrug. "He's a busy man."

"Uh huh," Tony said. "Listen, we need to get some food in the safe house for al-Zuhri. Do you have any idea on his dietary requirements, religious, medical, personal preference?"

"Hold on," she said and turned around to pick up a thin file. "I just copied this. I was going to have it in your briefing package for today, but you got in pretty early."

"Yeah," he said. "I wanted to take care of some things before the hustle started." As he turned to leave, he looked over his shoulder and said "Thanks Pam," then headed for the squad area. At the top of the stairs, he noticed movement near Ziva's desk and stopped to look. She was searching for something. Tony smiled as he realized she was looking for a prank then headed downstairs with a blank expression.

"Is McGee in yet?" he asked, coming around the corner. He hid the smirk as she jumped in surprise.

"He arrived when I did," Ziva said. "He stopped off at Abby's lab to check on her."

"She's not here." Tony said. "She's still with the nuns."

"Yeah," McGee said as he too entered the bullpen. "I should have called her this morning. I spoke to her last night before I went to bed but forgot to ask her if she was coming in."

"I thought I heard her ask for today off when she was talking to Gibbs," Tony said.

"Oh Tony," McGee said moving to put his gear at his desk. "Vance approved the requisitions for the safe house this morning. We need to drive the routes so I can input the variables into the system."

"Why we?" Tony asked. "And why are you giving orders McBossypants?"

"We," McGee began. "So you can learn the routes and be able to make modifications as needed."

"Of course I knew that."

"Of course you did DiKnowitall."

"Very good McGee," Ziva said with a grin.

"That was good." Tony said stepping behind McGee and delivering a slap to the back of the head.

"Ow! What was that for?" McGee asked rubbing his head.

"Gimmick infringement."

"Whatever," McGee said. "I have to go get the keys to the safe house."

As McGee ascended the stairs, he thought again of Abby. It bothered him that she still had not asked him to be with her. He knew how she felt about the nuns in her league. He reasoned that she would likely turn to Kyle first, him being her brother and all. Still, it bothered him that for the first time since they became close, she was facing a crisis without him.

"Hi Pamela," he said entering Vance's outer office. "Do you have the keys to the Georgetown safe house?"

"Hold on," Ms. Cook said as she went to a small wall safe and entered her code. She extracted a set of keys and a clipboard. "Just sign for them." She said handing the clipboard to McGee. After watching him sign his name, she handed him the keys, and placed the clipboard back into the safe and locked it.

McGee made his way back to his desk and grabbed his briefcase and backpack before joining Tony at the elevator. He didn't notice the glare Ziva was shooting in their direction.

_.-~=]})*({[=~-._

Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs sat in the seat next to the Deputy Director and across the desk from the Director of NCIS. He watched as the two men finalized the arrangements for Craig's trip to Brussels, with a quick stop in Geneva to check on an operation underway. When the two men finished, they turned their attention to him.

"Jethro," Craig began. "I don't have to tell you how important al-Zuhri is to the State Department. What you do need to know is that his defection is due in a large part to Director David."

"What does Eli have to do with this?" Gibbs asked.

"All indications coming out of Israel and Palestine show that David is reducing the number of operations directly against Palestine. When I spoke with al-Zuhri, he mentioned that David seemed to be looking to honor the cease-fire with fewer intelligence operations into Palestine. He, al-Zuhri, believes that he should take this chance and try in some way to end hostilities altogether."

"Needless to say," Director Vance added. "Peace between Palestine and Israel would go a long way to stabilizing the region. It could also send a positive message to other elements."

"And if it backfires?" Gibbs asked.

"That's a real possibility," Craig said. "Abu-Ahmad could, quite rightly see this as an act of betrayal and move to re-establish hostilities with Israel. That is up to State to spin it the right way. Our job is to keep the kid safe and get him to and from his debriefings until he can decide what to do afterwards."

"Any surprises not in the files?" Gibbs asked.

"None that we could find," Craig answered. "There is one thing, though it may be unrelated."

"What?" Gibbs and Vance asked together.

"During his visits to Riyadh," Craig began. "Ahmad would frequently visit the U.S. Embassy, and even made some friends among the Marines assigned there. Their influence may also have turned him towards defecting."

"Or he could have compromised them." Vance interjected.

"Which is why the entire unit has been replaced," Craig said. "They're on their way home now. They'll be sequestered at Quantico where Special Agent Harmon and his team will debrief them and investigate any possible signs of treason."

"Harmon?" Gibbs asked.

"Yes," Vance said. "Deputy Director Craig has assigned Agent Harmon and his team to run MCRT in your absence."

"Leon," Gibbs said. "The guy's idea of investigating is to run around town, smile like an idiot and depend on luck to close the case."

"And we already have Agent DiNozzo for that," Vance said.

"You're always too quick to downplay Tony's skills director," Gibbs said. "You really should pay closer attention to his results."

"I could say the same about Agent Harmon," Craig said.

"You could," Gibbs said as he rose from his seat. "But I still say he's more of a grinning idiot than a cop." Gibbs headed from the Director's office to MTAC. He spent the a few hours tracking al-Zuhri's flight, learning more about the man, and speaking with D.C. Metro ensuring they would have added security in the areas between Georgetown and the State Department.

_.-~=]})*({[=~-._

Special Agent Michael Harmon stepped into the elevator, followed by his two-person team. To his right and behind him, Special agent Marcus (never Mark) Weatherly kept his blond hair long and unkempt to please his wife of six years. Harmon allowed it because the agent's looks did not affect his ability as a superior investigator. He also found that women, especially younger women felt less inclined to keep secrets from Weatherly. Special Agent Maria de Pablo, however was Marcus's polar opposite. The daughter of Brazilian immigrants kept her long black hair tied in a tight ponytail. The epitome of efficiency and no-nonsense, de Pablo was no one to mess with. She could not only hurt you physically with her mastery of capoeira, but she could also cripple you by destroying your life digitally. When the elevator doors opened, they nearly ran into another dark haired woman looking to get on.

"Hey," Harmon said. "Is Director Vance still here?"

"Yes," the dark-haired woman answered. "He is in his office."

"Thanks." Harmon smiled and the trio headed up the stairs to Director Vance's office. As they topped the stairs, Deputy Director Craig came out of Vance's office and met them.

"Mike," Craig said extending his hand. "Good to see you again."

"You too Jerome," Harmon said as the four of them entered the outer office. "We were just heading in to report to Vance."

"No problem," Craig said. "But there's no rush. He is on the phone with SecNav right now. Why not make yourself at home first and Ms. Cook can inform the director that you are here. You can make yourselves familiar with the office while you wait."

"Alright," Harmon said and led his team back down stairs.

_.-~=]})*({[=~-._

"I'm telling you Timmy," DiNozzo said as the elevator doors opened. "Ahmad is gonna thank me when he makes his first pizza."

"Tony, you didn't get any kosher ingredients for pizza," McGee said as the came around the corner. "I don't think he'll appreciate-" McGee cut himself off as he and DiNozzo stopped suddenly to find three strangers in their work area. The blonde guy at Tony's desk caught DiNozzo's attention right away. McGee stared at the guy at the Boss's desk.

"Can I help you?" Tony asked the guy at his desk.

Agent Weatherly looked up and smiled briefly. "No thank you," he said before returning his attention to the computer.

"Are you sure?" Tony asked. "Maybe there's something on my computer I can help you find." Weatherly looked up at Tony again before looking over to his boss. Harmon for his part did not bother to look up.

"You must be DiNozzo," de Pablo said from Ziva's desk. "We're your replacements."

"Temporary," DiNozzo said. "But we're not exactly gone yet."

"You're effectively on assignment," Harmon said, finally looking up. "We can't leave MCRT unattended while you're prepping any more than we can while you're actually on assignment."

McGee finally decided to let them work out the problem. Since his desk was loiterer-free, he opted to do some work.

"We do need to get some work done before we start the assignment proper," McGee offered as he took his seat. "For that we need to use our work stations."

"You better get your work caught up tonight McGee," Gibbs said as he came around the corner. "We start tomorrow morning." Gibbs stopped beside his own desk and stared at Harmon, who remained sitting.

"Evening Jethro," Harmon said resuming his study of the file in his hand. Gibbs looked at DiNozzo and arched his eyebrow questioningly. Tony shrugged in response. Gibbs returned his attention to Harmon.

"Anything I can help you with?" Harmon asked. Gibbs took a sip of his coffee and continued to stare.

"You know the stare doesn't work on me Jethro," Harmon said. "You have to use your words." Gibbs continued to stare. Harmon turned the page. "I don't mind starting," Harmon said. "How have you been Jethro?" Gibbs took a sip of coffee and continued to stare. McGee shivered, as the room temperature seemed to drop twenty degrees.

"I hear Diane went back to work," Harmon said. "I never pictured her as a house wife anyway."

Gibbs set his coffee on his desk and picked up Harmon's bags. As he carried them to the other side of the divider, Harmon picked up Gibbs's cup and tossed it in the trash as he heard his own bags hit the floor. Gibbs returned to his desk and reached for his coffee only to find it gone. Tony edged around the corner near Ziva's desk. McGee lowered his chair and crouched as low as he could.

"Harmon," Vance called from the top of the stairs. "You and your team come on up and get your first assignment."

Gibbs stepped aside to allow Harmon to pass and immediately took his seat when the three new agents headed upstairs.

"DiNozzo," he said as he closed the file Harmon had been reading. Put all of that junk over there," he indicated with a nod the area where Agent Barrett's team once used. After dumping all of the bags at the desks in that area, Tony returned to his own desk and opened his email.

"I want you to wrap everything up in an hour," Gibbs announced. "Ahmad gets in at 10:00 in the morning." The three of them focused and got to work finishing their tasks. None of them paid any attention to Harmon's team as they made their way to the other side of the divider.

_.-~=]})*({[=~-._


	3. Three

The C-130 came to a stop just over a hundred yards from where Gibbs and DiNozzo parked the car at Andrews Air Force Base. As the rear hatch lowered, the two agents approached the plane and prepared to take possession of their assignment. Two men in matching white shirts and black sunglasses descended the ramp with another man behind them.

"Special Agent Gibbs?" one of the white shirts asked. Gibbs nodded in response. "Mike Halsey," he said handing over a packet. "He's all yours."

Halsey and his partner headed off to another car that waited a few hundred yards away leaving Gibbs and DiNozzo with their new protectee. For his part, al-Zuhri was nothing like they expected. His black hair was cut short and spiked on top with blonde tips. His clean shaven face carried a ready smile that matched his confident, yet relaxed gait. The thing that surprised them both happened when he spoke.

"Thank God that flight is over," he said. Gibbs and DiNozzo shared a look. "What?" he asked. "You thought I was defecting strictly because of politics?"

"Not our concern why you're doing this," Gibbs said.

"We're just here to keep you alive while you do it," DiNozzo added.

"If we are to be together for the next few days, can I at least know your names?" al-Zuhri asked.

"Special Agents Gibbs and DiNozzo," Tony said pointing to Gibbs and himself.

As the trio made their way to the car, two crewmen carried al-Zuhri's bags to the trunk. Ahmad, brought his jacket tighter around him, unaccustomed as he was to the colder climate of Washington, DC. Even after getting into the car the chill still bit into him like a knife to his soul.

"Maybe I should have waited to defect until summer," He said as Gibbs started the car.

Five minutes later they turned onto Suitland Rd, heading for Georgetown. Tony turned back and gave al-Zuhri a good look and asked, "So I take it you're shedding every aspect of your life from Palestine."

"Some things will be easier to leave behind than others," Ahmad said. "Leaving Islam, for instance, will be very easy."

"So that's why you're leaving Hamas?" Tony asked. "You don't believe in Muhammad anymore?"

"I will always believe in the teachings of the Prophet Muhammad," Ahmad said. "However there are aspects to Islam that I can no longer live by."

"Like the whole jihad thing?"

"Do you truly believe that is what all Muslims believe Special Agent DiNozzo?"

"Of course not," Tony said, "just the radical ones."

"Indeed," Ahmad said as he looked out the window.

_.-~=]})*({[=~-._

McGee entered the last of the data into the laptop. As the program compiled, he busied himself by making sure all of the other systems were up. From his miniature command center in the third bedroom, he could monitor everything within a two block radius with video surveillance, combined with a hidden metal detector at the front and rear entrance to the building and motion detectors all along the stairwell. This building didn't need an elevator, so that kept one headache from piling onto him. Anyone who came within his perimeter would be assessed immediately and if they were a threat, he, Tony, and Gibbs would stop them before they got within a hundred feet of the apartment.

The routes to and from the State Department were a bit trickier, but his program would randomly spit out the route just moments before they left each morning. McGee had another program ready to give him access to the dash mounted camera in the car and street cameras along the given route for the day. McGee looked over his bank of monitors and computers and smiled. From here he could oversee everything. At least until the assignment was over and NCIS repossessed his equipment.

One of the monitors chirped and a blinking indicator brought his attention to the cameras on the east side of M Street. Gibbs and DiNozzo just drove through the intersection. They will be here within three minutes. McGee checked the other monitors and saw no one else on the street outside the building and rose from his seat. He stepped outside the building as Gibbs turned onto the street. He scanned the buildings across the street and thankfully saw nothing unusual. He saw no open windows or indications that someone was perched on one of the roofs.

As the car pulled up to the building and parked, he slipped his pistol down his sleeve and into his hand, cocking the hammer in one quick motion. It took less than ten seconds for the three agents to get Ahmad al-Zuhri and his bags from the car to the building and just over that to get him upstairs and into the apartment.

_.-~=]})*({[=~-._

"Ja," she greeted the caller.

"He is now in Washington," the caller said. "He will be in their safe house until this afternoon."

"Gut," she said, then switching to an American accent, "I will introduce myself then." Without another word, the line went dead. She laid her phone down and went back to assembling the tools she would need.

_.-~=]})*({[=~-._

"Mr. al-Zuhri," McGee said. "I'm Special Agent McGee. Welcome to America. For the next few days, until you are debriefed by the State Department, you will live here. Special Agents Gibbs, DiNozzo and I will work to keep you safe until your plans are finalized. You must follow our directions completely and without argument. I assure you everything we ask you to do will be for your safety.

"For the most part, you will be left to do as you wish as long as you stay in this apartment. If you need anything, one of us will get it for you. For your prayers, Mecca is in that direction," McGee pointed east. "We have stocked mostly kosher foods for you. I'm not sure about your entertainment preferences, but we do have several books, basic cable, and an assortment of DVDs. Can you think of anything else that we may have missed?"

"Other than the slight problem that I do not cook," Ahmad said. "It seems you have thought of everything."

"No need to worry," Tony said coming into the living room after placing Ahmad's bags in his bedroom. "I'm a pretty good cook."

"Hope you like pizza," McGee said going into the mini command center. "You might want to rest up a bit after your flight. We need to have you at the State Department by two."

_.-~=]})*({[=~-._

"Gibbs," Vance said when he answered the phone. "I take it al-Zuhri is squared away."

"He's at the safe house," Gibbs said. "Tony and McGee will keep an eye on him for a couple of hours. I need to run an errand, but I'll have him at State on time."

"Gibbs," Vance said. "Tell Miss Sciuto, we're pulling for her."

"Will do Leon."

_.-~=]})*({[=~-._

Ahmad al-Zuhri opened his eyes and allowed the world to come into focus. It took him a moment to remember where he was and that thought made him smile. He was just a few days from being completely free. Once he gave the American Government the information they wanted, he would be free to leave all of the violence and backstabbing behind him. Then he would be able to settle down into a nice quiet life. He rose from the bed and grabbed a fresh set of clothes before heading to the bathroom for a shower.

DiNozzo stepped out of the kitchen when he heard the shower start. "Perfect timing," he said as he handed McGee a plate of what looked like heavily spiced pancakes.

"What's this?" McGee asked, looking the dish over.

"Musakhan," Tony said. "Roasted chicken over taboon bread, topped with fried sweet onions, sumac, allspice, and pine nuts."

"Do you really think he's gonna eat this mess?" McGee asked.

"He might."

McGee took a tentative bite and chewed slowly. The spices weren't as strong as he thought, but the unusual combination surprised him at first. By his third bite, his mouth started watering for more. Tony smiled as he watched the younger man eat and headed back into the kitchen. Within a few minutes, Ahmad joined the two agents in the living room and inhaled deeply.

"I smell something familiar," He said with a smile. As Tony handed him a plate, he asked, "How did you know musakhan was my favorite?"

"I didn't," Tony admitted. "It was the first Palestinian recipe I came across."

Ahmad took a large bite of musakhan and smiled again. "My mother used to make this for me when I was young. This tastes even better than hers

Gibbs returned to the safe house just as Ahmad, Tony and McGee finished their lunch. While McGee put the dishes into the sink, Tony and Ahmad grabbed their jackets and prepared to leave.

_.-~=]})*({[=~-._

The woman pocketed her favorite pistol. Styled like a Beretta M9, the major components were made of ceramic. The springs and other internal mechanisms were hardened plastic. She would be able to fire a maximum of thirty rounds before the weapon was useless. It wouldn't matter, she only needed three. The ammunition itself was a unique design. The caseless ammunition was practically standard but for the shot itself. The hollowed points of the hardened nylon rounds were filled with cyanide and sealed with bees wax. Even a non-lethal shot with these bullets would eventually kill someone. She set the booby traps and left the motel room.

_.-~=]})*({[=~-._

McGee watched as the car moved from one traffic cam to another en route to the State Department. The program he set up scanned the vehicles and license plates of every car they passed to make sure one did not appear too often passing the team. He also watched vehicles up to a one block radius from the team watching them too in case someone was travelling in front, behind or parallel, following from a distance. Thus far, it seemed no one was following them. The trio was three blocks away from the State Department building and McGee started to relax slightly. He picked up the last musakhan and took a bite as he watched the team make their approach.

_.-~=]})*({[=~-._

She entered the building and approached the front desk. She had a name to ask for, knowing the man would be out of the office. She waited a brief moment before the man behind the desk asked her if he could help her.

"I'm looking for Michael Ooten," she said in her American accent.

"I'm sorry," the man behind the desk said. "Mr. Ooten is out of the office until Friday."

"Darn," she said. "I'm leaving Friday. I'll be back in a couple of weeks though, I'll catch him then."

"Have a great day," the man said as she turned to leave.

_.-~=]})*({[=~-._

Gibbs pulled into a parking lot just outside the barricades to the State Department building. He got out of the car and waited for Tony to come around to the driver's side before he opened the back door and allowed al-Zuhri to exit. The three of them walked up to the barricade and showed their credentials to the gate security before being allowed to proceed. They crossed over C Street and stepped onto the opposite sidewalk just outside the building. With Gibbs keeping a discreet eye on the surrounding buildings, it was Tony's task to keep an eye on pedestrians and vehicles, watching for danger from any source. The trio began walking along the walk to the entrance of the State Department building. As they approached the building a slender woman with short black hair stepped out with her cell phone to her ear. He watched her walk and thought briefly of Jean-Baptiste Emanuel Zorg from The Fifth Element. Funny, he thought. Never thought Gary Oldman would seem attractive.

The woman smiled as she passed Tony and he took a brief moment to watch her walk from the corner of his eye. It was good for al-Zuhri that he found her attractive. Tony moved as the woman's hand came out of her pocket. As he slammed his hand into the gun, he barely registered Gibbs covering Ahmad and moving him out of danger as the woman swung her pistol his way. While Gibbs rushed Ahmad into the building, Tony dodged a spinning kick to his head. He reached for his gun but was stopped by a punch to his solar plexus that sent him back a step or two. The woman brought her gun up again and Tony lunged at her.

A quick punch to her chin sent her staggering backward, and he followed up with a kick to the stomach. Tony saw several armed security officers approach and hoped one of them would take the shot before this got ugly. His own hand reached for his gun as he advanced on the woman. She recovered faster than he figured and before his weapon cleared its holster, she began firing. Tony fell backwards as he felt each of the six slugs slam into his chest. The last thing he saw was the woman's feet retreating. He barely heard the security officers firing their weapons at her before darkness enveloped him.

_.-~=]})*({[=~-._


	4. Four

Tony groaned between gasps for breath as the paramedics lifted him onto the gurney. Gibbs was several feet away waiting for them to get him situated.

"Boss," Tony groaned loudly.

Gibbs stepped over to him. "Tony."

Tony gasped in pain but managed to get it under control long enough to ask, "Al-Zuhri?"

"He's safe," Gibbs said. "CIA is watching over him. He's on his way to debriefing."

"The shooter," Tony said.

"We got her," Gibbs answered. "Secret Service clipped her in the leg and arm."

"No," Tony said, grimacing in pain. "She knew I had a vest."

"Excuse me sir," the paramedic said as he fastened the restraining belts around Tony's legs and waist. "We need to get him to Bethesda in case his ribs are broken or worse." Gibbs stepped away from the gurney to allow them to take his partner.

"Jethro," Harmon called as he and his team came running up. "How is he?"

"Maybe a broken rib or two," Gibbs said. "He'll live."

"Do you need anything?" Harmon asked.

"Yeah Mike," Gibbs turned to face Harmon and answered with some frustration. "I need you to do your job."

"Fair enough," Harmon said. "What about the shooter?"

"She's on her way to Bethesda."

Harmon glanced over his shoulder and said, "Maria, get there now. She does not get out of your sight."

De Pablo nodded and handed her camera to Weatherly before heading back to the car.

_.-~=]})*({[=~-._

Doctor Adam Jarvis tied off the last stitch and ordered the nurse to check the patient's vital signs again. After listing the post-care directions and prescribing a round of both antibiotics and pain killers, Dr. Jarvis signed the chart and headed out of the room. He paused at the door and said to the NCIS agent standing there, "When the results come back from her blood work, we'll look them over and check her vitals one last time. If everything checks out o.k., she's all yours."

"Thank you," Agent de Pablo said as the doctor left the room. She stood at her post and watched the woman lie on the bed. The Secret Service officers at the State Department were helpful by firing disabling shots. Maria knew it was uncharacteristic of them, considering they were trained to react with lethal force, but such lethal force would have been counterproductive in this situation.

"Are you not going to start questioning me?" the woman asked in what sounded like an Eastern European accent.

"You'll be questioned soon enough," Maria answered. "However, if you wish to give a confession, I will be happy to take your statement."

"You already know all you need," the woman said. "And you'll learn no more."

_.-~=]})*({[=~-._

"You're very lucky Tony," the doctor said as he wrapped the bandage around Tony's torso. "You have two bruised ribs. If the shots had been grouped a little better, they may have broken." He pinned the bandage clamps in place carefully, noting each time Tony flinched from the pain when a tender area was touched. "You're going to be sore for a week or two and you'll experience some problems if you take deep breaths. With your already diminished lung capacity, I suggest you avoid anything strenuous. I want you to take a couple of days off, and I'll forward my recommendation to NCIS."

"Thanks Brad," Tony said. "But you do know I have a job to do, right?"

"I do," Dr. Pitt said. "I also know how to fix it so that you will have to stay in the hospital indefinitely if you don't take care of yourself."

"Fine," Tony said, reaching for his shirt. ""We still playing ball next weekend?"

Doctor Pitt raised his eyes from Tony's chart and gave him an incredulous look. "Did you not hear anything I just said?"

"Yeah I did," Tony said, wincing as he slipped his shirt on. "So poker instead?"

Brad gave a quick chuckle as he signed Tony's release. "That'll be a refreshing change," he said. "Taking money from you directly instead of your insurance company."

"Ha."

"Oh, here," Brad said as he handed a large, brown paper evidence bag to Tony. "There's some kind of liquid on the vest surrounding the impact sites. Your lab may want to look at it."

"Thanks again," Tony said, signing the evidence release form and giving Brad a copy. "Give Emma my love," he said as he walked out of the room.

_.-~=]})*({[=~-._

McGee woke from his nap and checked his monitors. No one had tried to enter the building while he slept and the security systems remained active. He checked the surveillance from the neighborhood and didn't spot anything abnormal. It was time to check in with the boss and see how long before they would be at State.

"Boss, I'm back on post," he said into the communications system, "checking your situation."

"McGee, the situation is strained," Gibbs said.

"I- What does that mean?" McGee asked.

"There was a hit. Tony took six to his vest, but al-Zuhri's safe."

"Boss, why didn't you contact me?"

"You needed the sleep McGee," Gibbs said. "Tony is o.k., the shooter is in custody, and we need to maintain our positions. Trust me, if DiNozzo had been hurt, you would have known."

"Right," McGee said, typing a couple of commands into his computer.

"Don't bother checking," Gibbs said. "Bethesda released Tony ten minutes ago. He's on his way to the office with some evidence."

"O.k.," McGee said. "So how much longer will al-Zuhri be in debriefing?"

"Couple of hours, maybe," Gibbs said. "Find out what you can about the shooter. I want to know who hired her."

"On it Boss," McGee said typing in some new commands. "Who's case?"

"Harmon."

"I'll access the server and find out what they have so far."

"Just call Vance," Gibbs said."

_.-~=]})*({[=~-._

"Agent de Pablo is on her way with the prisoner now," Vance said into the phone. "Tell Gibbs as soon as we know anything important, we'll let him know." After McGee thanked the director and hung up, Vance turned to Harmon and leveled a glare at him. "I don't care what kind of crap is going on between you and Gibbs," he said. "You will keep him in the loop on both investigations."

"Both investigations Director," Harmon asked.

"If one of those Marines has been compromised, Gibbs needs to know," Vance said. "Al-Zuhri's security is important and a traitor could compromise his security and the team's safety."

"You think if there's a traitor, the assassin is linked to him or her?"

"That's what I want you to find out."

"Will do."

_.-~=]})*({[=~-._

"Maria, where's our shooter?" Harmon asked as he came into the squad area.

"Interrogation," de Pablo answered. "Agent Dorneget is keeping an eye on her."

"What do we know about her?"

"Prints came through Interpol," Weatherly said as he clicked a button on the remote. The large monitor raised and the shooter's image came up on the screen. "Her name is Crystal Hubert. She's German but hasn't live there in over thirteen years. She graduated from Sekundäre Klassik Gymnasium in 1998, went to Central European University in Budapest from 1998 through 2001. She slipped off the grid in '01 but resurfaced in London three years later. She was spotted on a surveillance camera shooting Emil Maccabi in front of Parliament."

"From there," Maria continued. "Her list of targets includes successful hits on no fewer than fifteen Israeli diplomats or successful business people and one failed attempt on the life of Levi Barak, a very outspoken Rabbi who speaks out against Hamas, Hezbollah, and just about every other Islamic group."

"So… Does anyone else see the weirdness in this information?" Harmon asked.

"Oh I see it," Maria said as the phone on her desk rang. "Do you want us to look into her family tree?"

"Maybe later if it gets weirder," Harmon said as Maria picked up her phone. "What else do we have Marcus?" He asked Weatherly, turning back to the monitor.

"She's brilliant," Marcus answered. "She is known to speak at least six languages other than German, she can change her accent to fit the area she is working, and she apparently can con her way into any situation. Security cameras show her coming out of Parliament hand in hand with a member of the House of Lords just before she killed Maccabi. Not to mention she walked out of the State Department building before trying to kill al-Zuhri."

"That was Carol from the lab," Maria said, rejoining the conversation. "They have something for us."

_.-~=]})*({[=~-._

Special Agent Mike Harmon entered the lab and saw the two techs standing on boxes. Both were bent over what appeared to be a bullet-proof vest, with magnifying glasses and tweezers. He stood there a moment before clearing his throat.

"Carol called us down here," he announced when the two techs raised their heads. The male returned to his work as the female came over to him.

"We found something both cool and creepy with the gun and the vest," Carol said.

"O.k.," Mike said. "Give me the cool first."

"No," Carol said as she typed a command into the computer. "The thing we found is both cool and creepy."

"O.k.," Mike said.

"The bullets first," She said indicating the large screen. "Are made of hardened nylon. They're hollow-points, but the hollows are filled with cyanide and covered with bees wax."

"Cyanide?" Mike asked.

"Concentrated cyanide," Carol explained. "You've heard of poison pills?"

"Oh yeah,"

"Well imagine those at ten times the concentration. If you get shot in the foot with these things, you might still die."

"Might?"

"Well it depends on your footwear. But some of the cyanide could still enter your blood stream even if your shoes and/or socks absorbed some of it when the bullet impacts. Speaking of which, the bullets."

"Yeah?"

"Like I said, they're hardened nylon but when they impact, their designed to fragment."

"Causing more damage after impact," Harmon surmised.

"Right," Carol said.

"This chick is not only ruthless," Marty Pearson said as he plucked another fragment from the vest. "She's evil."

"And cocky," Carol said. "The propellant for the bullets is a gel similar to caseless ammo, but lower powered. With this kind of ammo, she has to get up close and personal with her targets."

"She likes to watch them die," Harmon said.

"Maybe," Carol said.

"What about the gun itself?"

"For a gun enthusiast, this is beautiful," Carol said moving to the workstation. "All of the major components, the frame, the barrel, firing pin, trigger, et cetera are made of ceramic. These pieces were designed to replicate a Beretta M9. The internal components, like the springs, the bushings, struts, and screws are all hard plastic. Meaning they'd have to be replaced regularly. Neither the gun nor the ammunition contains any metal components. She could take this weapon anywhere."

"The knife is the same," Marty contributed. "A ceramic blade with a hardened nylon handle, perfectly balanced and almost as sharp as a scalpel."

"Any idea what company made them?" Harmon asked.

"None," Carol said. "These were hand made specifically for her. There are no maker's marks, no serial numbers, and no identifying markers at all."

"Hmm," Harmon said. "Good job. I think it's time I went to talk to her."

_.-~=]})*({[=~-._

Harmon walked into the interrogation room and closed the door. Hubert sat at the table with her arms crossed ready for him to do his worst. As he dropped the folder on the desk and sat in the chair, he watched her face carefully.

"O.k.," he said once he was comfortable. "What we're going to do, you and I, is share some information. I'm going to tell you what I know, then you're going to tell me what you know." Hubert arched an eyebrow at him and gave him a slight smirk. "Your name is Crystal Hubert. You graduated from Sekundäre Klassik Gymnasium in 1998 and dropped out of CEU in Budapest in your junior year."

Hubert narrowed her eyes at him. She was never concerned with leaving clues to her identity behind. In fact she often intentionally left her fingerprints at a scene and allowed herself to be photographed or filmed. It didn't bother her that this glorified policeman knew so much about her. She smiled at him as she leaned into the table.

"And since, I have killed seventy-five people," she whispered. "But, you probably only know of fifteen or twenty of them."

"And you've missed at least two," Harmon said. "Who hired you to kill al-Zuhri? We know it wasn't Hamas. If they wanted him dead, they'd use their own resources."

"I was hired by CIA," When her nose crinkled, it turned her grin into another smirk. "Or was it FBI? I can't remember."

"I think you were hired by someone close to al-Zuhri." He watched as her eyes narrowed again. "Someone who felt personally betrayed by his defection. Maybe his father." At that moment, Harmon's cell phone rang.

"Harmon," he said into the phone.

"They found her motel room," Marcus said. "They got her cell phone and the rest of her equipment."

"Good," Harmon said. "Check her call history. We'll get her boss from that." Hubert's eyes narrowed again as Harmon stood. "I hope you like America. Looks like you'll be here for a while." As he stepped out of the interrogation room he looked to the agent standing guard. "Agent Dorneget, can you take Miss Hubert to a holding cell?" he asked. With a nod from the agent, Harmon headed back to the squad area to wait while Maria traced the calls from Hubert's cellphone.

_.-~=]})*({[=~-._


	5. Five

Agent Dorneget walked behind the woman as he directed her to the holding area. As she walked, he took a surreptitious glance at her butt and thought how nice it would be if she weren't a killer. I bet that's what got Tony shot, he thought to himself. The view alone is worth the bullet. "Turn right," he said aloud as they came to an intersection in the corridor.

He heard the click and reached for his weapon, but too late. Hubert spun on her right foot, bringing her left foot into the agent's jaw. He was unconscious before he hit the floor. Hubert knelt and picked up his pistol before putting the handcuff key back under the latex pocket she had on her forearm. She stowed the pistol in the back of her waistband and grabbed the man under his arms. It took her three tries to find an unlocked door but she dragged him into the office and snuck back into the hallway.

She quickly made her way to the stairwell and descended them to the main floor. She saw the door on the landing had an alarm attached, but she opted to take the chance and slammed through the door at a full run. She broke through to the outside as alarms sounded behind her and she kept running.

_.-~=]})*({[=~-._

Mike Harmon and his team looked around when the alarms went off. Maria quickly entered a couple of commands into her computer and brought up the alarm system on her monitor.

"An emergency door was opened on the main floor," She said standing and grabbing her weapon along with the others.

"Get ahold of Dorneget and make sure he still has Hubert," Mike said as they rushed to the emergency stairwell. Maria dialed Dorneget's number as the trio descended the stairs two at a time.

"Dorneget's not answering," she said as the reached the main floor stairwell and saw the door which had been breached. The three of them rushed through the door and scattered, looking for whomever came through it before. They saw other agents and several other security personnel doing the same thing.

"Did anyone see who came through the door?" Harmon called out. Everyone within hearing range looked to him and indicated a negative with a shake of their heads. "Damn it," he swore. His phone rang and he jerked it from his pocket, jamming his thumb on the connect button as he did.

"Harmon," he spat into the phone. "Where? Get him to my desk I want to talk to him!" he disconnected the call and waved his team over. "Dorneget was found in the personnel office unconscious. Maria, get upstairs and get me the security footage for the Navy Yard. I want to know how she escaped and where she is."

The three of them moved quickly to get back to their desks. By the time they got off the elevator, an agent was standing next to Harmon's desk watching over Dorneget who was sitting, rubbing his jaw.

"Tell me what the hell happened down there Ned?" Mike asked as he came up to the man.

"I don't know," Dorneget answered. "I was taking her to holding, and the next thing I know, she spun around and kicked me in my jaw."

"I have the footage," Maria said, typing in the commands to bring it up onto the big screen. The five of them watched as Hubert unlocked her handcuffs and spun her foot into Dorneget's face. The agent, who found him barely stifled a chuckle as they watched her take his weapon and drag him out of the frame. They tracked her all the way outside and through the parking lot until they lost her.

Maria cycled through the cameras but could not pick Hubert up on any of them. "The cameras beyond the lot are spaced so sporadically that she could easily avoid them until she gets to the perimeter of the Navy Yard and the docks," she said. "And if she sneaks between a couple of the perimeter cameras, she can be gone by now."

"BOLO now," Harmon said turning on Dorneget. "I want you to fill out an incident report, report your lost weapon, go get your jaw checked out, go home and wait for Director Vance to call you."

Ned paled and nodded his head. "Y-yes Agent Harmon," he said as he got up on shaky legs.

_.-~=]})*({[=~-._

Very Special Agent Anthony DiNozzo stepped into the hallway from the elevator. He scanned both directions before turning to the right and heading toward the end of the hall. When he came to the last door on the left, he reached to open it, but the handle was pulled from his grasp as the door swung inward. Tony looked up and saw his Boss standing in the doorway.

"I was told you needed a couple of days off," Gibbs said.

"Me too," Tony grinned and winced slightly. "Lucky for me, it came across more as a suggestion than an order."

"Maybe you should take it easy though."

"I'm fine Boss," Tony said.

"I didn't say you weren't. But it wouldn't hurt for you to stay off your feet a little."

"I'm not gonna go lay down while I have work to do."

Gibbs slapped a packet into DiNozzo's hand. "Just go sit in the car Tony. The shooter slipped out of Harmon's custody. If she tries again, your presence might throw her off enough to make a fatal mistake. I want you outside so you can see her coming before she gets too close."

"And from the car, I'll be able to keep an eye on the entrance since that's where you'll be bringing al-Zuhri."

Gibbs smiled as he turned and headed back through the door he had just exited. Tony looked at the packet Gibbs had given him. As he headed back to the elevator, he opened the envelope and pulled out an 8x10 photo showing the shooter's face. As the elevator carried him back to the first floor, he pulled the documents from the envelope. He learned the woman's name and her history as well as read the brief summary of her escape. He thought with a chuckle of poor Dorneget's bad luck, and then he empathized with the kid for what would unquestionably be a long and painful unpaid leave of absence.

It took Tony less than three minutes to get into the car from the elevator. With his bruised ribs, that time seemed to multiply by a factor of ten. The cold air made his breathing speed up a bit and with each intake, his ribs shouted out in pain, causing a gasp, which resulted in more pain. By the time he was behind the wheel, he was on the verge of taking Dr. Brad up on his recommendation for a couple days off. After his breathing returned to normal and the pain subsided, Tony started to get comfortable and realized that the sunshine pouring through the windows was creating warmth that countered the bitter chill of the weather outside. Tony eased back into the driver's seat and began scanning the front of the State Department building, waiting to see if a woman fitting the shooter's description happened by.

_.-~=]})*({[=~-._

Crystal Hubert had no interest in going back to the State Department. She had other plans that included finishing her job then getting the hell out of Washington. It was going to be trickier than she thought. She didn't plan on the body guard being as alert as he was. She surely didn't plan on the uniformed Secret Service agents responding so quickly. Her plan had been simple. All she had to do was walk past her target, slip her pistol into his ribs and fire a couple of shots. With her athletic ability, she could have been several yards away and able to dodge their responding attack until she was back safely to her rental car.

As it was, she now had to go to her secondary motel room and retrieve her backup weapons, IDs and phone. The first call she made was to her employer to report her initial failure. She assured the voice on the other end of the line that she would not fail her next attempt and made arrangements for return the fee she had already collected. It was a long standing policy of hers. If she failed on the first try, the employer got their money back and she would complete the job for free. Fortunately for her, this was only the second time this policy was actually used. Unfortunately for Ahmad al-Zuhri, it pissed her off to lose money.

_.-~=]})*({[=~-._

Tony pulled the sedan into the parking space outside the building. In spite of his pain, he jumped out of the vehicle and was by the rear passenger door before al-Zuhri could get out. Tony and Gibbs had Ahmad in the apartment within a minute and a half.

"McGee, you're on watch," Gibbs said as Ahmad disappeared into his bedroom. "DiNozzo, get some sleep. You're spelling McGee at three in the morning."

"Yes Boss," the two men said simultaneously.

"Um, Boss what about you?" McGee said as Gibbs headed back out the door.

"I got something to take care of McGee."

McGee watched Gibbs leave then thought for a moment before heading to Ahmad's bedroom door and knocking. "Mr. al-Zuhri, would you like something to eat?"

The door opened and Ahmad stepped out in a fresh set of clothes. "No thank you," he said as he headed to the living room area. "I would like to send an email, if you don't mind."

"I'm afraid I can't allow that," McGee said. "Although I have taken several precautions, there remains a slim possibility that your email can be traced and your location revealed."

Ahmad sighed and took a seat on the sofa. "This is definitely going to be a long week," he said picking up the remote control. "Will you join me in a movie?"

McGee thought for a moment and nodded. "Sure, let me take care of a couple of things real quick." With that, McGee went into his mini-command center. After a few moments, he had the security system set up so that he could monitor everything from both a tablet and his phone, both of which he took with him back into the living room.

_.-~=]})*({[=~-._

"Magdala al-Zuhri?" Gibbs said as the woman and her body guards exited the elevator.

"You may not address her directly," one of the body guards said, stepping between the woman and Gibbs.

Gibbs held up his badge and showed it to the body guard. "NCIS, I have some questions for Mrs. al-Zuhri about an assassin named Crystal Hubert."

"We do not know this name," the body guard said.

"Well then, maybe you can explain why the number to Magdala's motel room is on the assassin's call log."

"Perhaps your assassin dialed a wrong number."

"Uh-uh," Gibbs said holding up the phone. "They were received from this motel room."

"Perhaps the next time I speak with her," the woman said. "She will have better news for me."

"You hired an assassin to kill your own son?" Gibbs asked. "Just because he left Hamas?"

"First Miste S," Magdala said stepping around her body guard. "I no longer have a son. I could never have a child that would betray his father in exchange for the favors of an ahira ablys."

"Tell me where she is," Gibbs said.

"You will have to find her yourself. I have better things to do." Gibbs watched as the group walked past him and into Magdala's room. Once the door was closed, he began moving quickly to the elevator, pulling his phone out as he went.

"McGee," he said as the elevator doors opened. "I want everything on that assassin now. And find out why al-Zuhri's mother thinks her son defected over a woman."

_.-~=]})*({[=~-._

Gibbs called Director Vance and updated him on what he learned. Vance promised to have Harmon look into finding al-Zuhri's girlfriend, but reminded him to keep vigilant. It took Gibbs less than ten minutes to make it back to the safe house. By the time he pulled into his parking slot, dusk had fallen and the street lights were on. He dashed into the building so quickly, he didn't even collect any of the snow that had begun falling.

"Ahmad," he said as he came through the door. "We need to talk." Ahmad sat up straight on the sofa and waited. "I just visited your mother," Gibbs said with no preamble."

"My mother is here?" Ahmad asked.

"And she brought the assassin from the State Department building."

"That is not possible," Ahmad said rising from his seat. "She knows nothing of this."

"Oh yeah," Gibbs said going into the kitchen. "She knows. She says that you betrayed your father for an ahira ablys."

Ahmad fell into the seat he had just pulled out and watched stunned as Gibbs prepared to make some coffee. "How could she know about Dukes?" he asked.

"So she's right," Gibbs asked. "You were seeing an American."

"Yes," Ahmad said. "One of the Marines from the Embassy."

"Any idea how she found out?"

"No," Ahmad shook his head. "We were so careful. It would have meant both of our deaths if we were found out. It is why we always went out with other Marines from the Embassy in Riyadh."

Gibbs paused before starting the coffee grinder. "Do you think she would go after a United States Marine?"

"Without question," Ahmad paled. "She would not care if it caused war."

Gibbs pulled out his phone and dialed Harmon's number. As soon as the other agent picked up he asked, "Where are the Marines from Riyadh being kept?"

"That's my investigation Jethro," Harmon said.

"One of their lives may be in danger," Gibbs shouted. "They weren't turned. One of them was in love with Ahmad."

"That would have been either Lopez or Dukes then," Harmon said.

"Yeah, Dukes is the name al-Zuhri gave me."

Harmon paused a minute. "Yeah, PFC Sandra Dukes. She's one of only two female Marines assigned to the embassy. We're on our way to pick her up."

"I'll meet you there," Gibbs said as he hung up. To Ahmad he said. "NCIS agents are on their way to pick Sandra up."

"Why would they be picking her up?" Ahmad asked.

"Her entire unit was brought home," Gibbs said. "They were being investigated in case you may have turned one or more of them. She's here in D.C. and your mother may be targeting her too."

"Why would my mother want to kill Sandy?" Ahmad asked, and then jumped up. "Oh my God, she thinks it was Sandy I am seeing?"

"It's not?" Gibbs asked suddenly confused.

"No," Ahmad said. "I fell in love with her unit commander, Shawn. Gunnery Sergeant Shawn Dukes is the one in danger."

"Ah damn," Gibbs said. "DiNozzo!"

"Already got my jacket Boss," Tony said coming into the kitchen. "Didn't mean to eavesdrop, but it sounded important."

"Let's go," Gibbs said leading the way out of the apartment.

"I got their location from McGee," Tony said as they closed the door. Once they were out of the apartment, Ahmad ran into the living room straight into McGee.

"Tim." He said in near panic. "I need to use your phone. I have to get in touch with him."

"Ahmad, Gibbs and Tony will get him safe."

"But I have to warn him in case they don't get there in time," Ahmad begged. "She may be trying to kill his cousin as well."

"Ok," McGee relented. "But if they're under investigation, they would have had their phones confiscated."

Ahmad began to wail as he collapsed on the sofa. McGee watched on feeling sorry for the man's anguish.

_.-~=]})*({[=~-._


	6. Six

Hubert turned on her laser pointer and aimed it just below the camera. Slowly she brought the beam up until it pointed directly into the lens. She peeled a strip of the duct tape from her vest and secured the pointer in position on the tree trunk she used as a brace. She grabbed the branch on which she was perched and swung down, dropping noiselessly to the ground. Thirty seconds later, she was in position to block out the next camera. It took her less than ten minutes to knock out all of the cameras in this section of the base perimeter. She quickly back tracked half way and began firing paintball pellets at the small box that analyzed the security wire embedded in the fence for this section.

The four paintballs exploded on impact and the box began hissing as the acid inside them began eating the metal. Two more shots and the acid ate through to the interior of the box and immediately destroyed the sensitive circuits. Hubert harnessed her equipment and ran along the fence line, passing the area where the cameras were incapacitated. About three hundred yards from her the last camera, she abruptly turned away from the fence and ran further. She reached the motorcycle she procured from the Marine at the bar. He wouldn't mind, he would be unconscious for another several hours. She removed her equipment and the black clothing she wore and stowed them under the brush she had collected earlier. In no time she was dressed again and began pushing the bike back toward the main road.

_.-~=]})*({[=~-._

"Yeah McGee," Gibbs said into his phone.

"Boss, Quantico just reported a breach." McGee said.

"Near the detainees," Gibbs asked.

"Negative," McGee said. "Cameras and fence sensors on the other side of the base were disabled."

"Damn it," Gibbs said closing his phone. "She's making her move," he said to DiNozzo.

"You know boss," DiNozzo said as Gibbs increased his speed. "We may want to relocate the entire unit. We're not sure what intel Hubert has. She may try taking out everyone just to get the right one."

The only answer he got was a short "Yep."

_.-~=]})*({[=~-._

Gibbs pulled up to the main gate at Quantico Marine Corps Base. He was annoyed to see that Harmon was directly in front of him. He peered through the glass and through Harmon's car to see the guard pass a Marine on a motorcycle through and wave Harmon forward. Gibbs saw Harmon show his identification and point towards his vehicle. The guard waved both of them through with a crisp salute.

Harmon led Gibbs towards the base housing area, past two outdoor basketball courts to a four-way intersection where they turned right. Harmon pulled into the drive of the third house on the right, which Gibbs guessed was ill equipped to house six Marines comfortably. As they pulled into the driveway, Gibbs scanned the area. He saw no one on the street, but that meant nothing. He and Tony got out of the car and walked over to Harmon and his team.

"The MPs have all the Marines in the basement," Harmon said. He led the rest of the agents to the house, Gibbs at his side.

"We need to extract both Sandra and Shawn Dukes," Gibbs told him as they ascended the front steps.

"Why?"

"Shawn is the target, but the assassin may think Sandra is." Harmon opened the door to find a nine-millimeter Berretta pointing at his head.

"What do you mean Shawn is the target?" Harmon asked as the Marine lowered his weapon.

"I'll explain when we get them out of here." Gibbs said.

"Special Agent Harmon, the detainees are still in the basement," the Marine said.

"Do we have MPs on all access points?" Gibbs asked.

"There's only one," the Marine answered. "And yes sir."

"DiNozzo," Gibbs said. "You and Weatherly Make sure no one gets through this door. I want one of you outside, one in."

"Mike?" Weatherly asked. Harmon nodded and his agent stepped outside. Gibbs, Harmon and de Pablo followed the Marine through the house. They came to a door just outside the kitchen and stopped.

"Honey, I'm home," the Marine called out before opening the door. Two Marines were on the other side of the door with pistols in hand. They scrambled out of the doorway and allowed the group to pass. When the agents and their guide began descending the stairs, one of the Marines returned to the top of the stairs and the other closed the door behind them.

"Dukes," Harmon called when they were at the bottom of the stairs.

"Yes sir!" a large muscular Marine called as he stepped forward.

"You and Private Dukes come with us," Harmon said. "The rest of you will be relocated to a more secure facility."

"Sir," a female Marine stepped forward. "What's going on?"

"Stow it Dukes," the male Marine said.

"Gunny, we were pulled off our duty six months in and brought home. No one has said anything about why."

"Private Dukes," Harmon said. "I assure you everything will be explained soon. You and your cousin need to come with us now."

Private Dukes was clearly displeased with this response, but she squared her shoulders and stepped up next to Gunnery Sergeant Dukes and nodded.

The MP who led them down turned and led the way back up the stairs, followed by de Pablo and the two endangered Marines, with Harmon and Gibbs bringing up the rear. At the top of the stairs, the Marine watching the door knock twice and opened it. The troupe made their way to the front door where DiNozzo waited. He opened the door a crack and saw Weatherly on the front porch waiting.

Weatherly for his part, heard the door open and quickly scanned the area before waving the group outside. They hurriedly left the house with the agents surrounding the Marines. Gibbs indicated that Harmon's team should take Sandra Dukes while he and DiNozzo took Shawn. They were halfway to the care when the shots began. Weatherly took a bullet in his knee and he was down. He pulled Sandra down with him and covered his body with hers. DiNozzo did the same with Shawn while the rest of the agents scrambled for cover and returned fire.

Gibbs saw her first from the porch of the house diagonal and right of their location. He fired four shots in her direction and moved to the other side of the car. "DiNozzo," he shouted as he fired from the back of the vehicle.

Tony rolled off Dukes and pushed him pointing to the small space between the two NCIS vehicles. Once he saw that Dukes was safely on the other side of the vehicle, he rolled over and pulled Weatherly off Sandra, giving her directions to scamper in front of Harmon's vehicle. Just as he grabbed Weatherly by the arms and began pulling him to safety, every Marine within the house exited, took a half-second to survey, and began firing at the house across the way.

_.-~=]})*({[=~-._

Hubert knew the likelihood of success was slim. If she managed to kill her target this time it would have been a bonus. Her real mission for tonight was to send a message. Each shot she fired screamed out "I can't be stopped! I can get you anywhere!"

She glanced to the porch of the house which the group came out of and saw a whole squad of Marines come out and immediately target her position. She did a backflip over the railing and hurried to the back of the house. She heard the Marines and the NCIS agents continue to fire as she ran across the back yard, across a small open field and around another house. She crossed the street noting that the gunfire had ceased.

She broke through the woods and came out a short distance later where the motorcycle was parked. She brought the machine to life and headed north to the closest and least secure entrance to the base. As she approached the metal gate, she steered the bike to the right bringing it up a short dirt hill and around the gate, turning onto Highway One and making her escape just as a pair of headlights came around the corner."

_.-~=]})*({[=~-._

"You three stay with the detainees," The lead MP ordered as he and the rest of his squad moved across the street to secure the structure they were firing upon. Gibbs moved to the Driver's side of the car after hearing a motorcycle rev to life a couple of streets over. His instincts and training told him precisely from where the noise came. DiNozzo, stay with the Dukes' he shouted as he back out of the drive and sped toward the intersection. He hit the button and allowed the window to lower so he could listen for the motorcycle engine as he made a sharp right turn and followed the sound. A minute later, he was coming around the curve at the northern exit and slammed on his brakes to avoid crashing into the gate. Gibbs slammed his palm onto the steering wheel as he watched the motorcycle speed off down Highway One.

_.-~=]})*({[=~-._

"Right Boss," McGee said. "I'm issuing the BOLO now." McGee listened for a moment and answered, "I'll let him know. Thank you."

Ahmad paced the floor listening to every word McGee said. Once the agent disconnected the call, he stopped and watched him turn in his chair.

"They got him," McGee said with a smile. "Shawn and Sandra both are safe. Some agents are taking her to NCIS, and Gibbs is bringing Shawn here."

"Oh thank God," Ahmad said as he fell to his knees crying. McGee went over to the man and helped him to his feet. "How about some tea while we wait?" he asked after helping Ahmad to the sofa. Ahmad could only nod.

As McGee entered the kitchen he heard Ahmad say, "Dear Jesus thank you for looking out for them."

_.-~=]})*({[=~-._

McGee had just put the teacups into the dishwasher when the door opened. He knew it was Gibbs as he saw them turn onto the street before collecting his and Ahmad's dishes. He came out of the kitchen in time to see Ahmad run into the burly Marine's arms. McGee and DiNozzo watched as Ahmad wept into Sergeant Dukes' shoulder. After crying for a minute or so the shorter man looked up into the Marine's eyes and whispered, "I was so afraid they wouldn't get to you in time."

"Hey," Dukes said wiping away a tear with his thumb while the remaining fingers caressed Ahmad's cheek. "You know it takes more than one psycho to keep me away from you. Ahmad smiled and pulled the Marine's head down and kissed him softly before pulling back and smiling.

"I need to give the CIA everything they want quickly," he said. "I'm not spending another second away from you." Dukes pulled the smaller man into what McGee considered a bear-like embrace until he saw how gently Dukes caressed the smaller man's shoulder. After a moment or two standing like that, the two realized they were not alone. They turned and faced the three agents with Dukes blushing slightly.

"Forgive us," Ahmad said. "We haven't seen one another in months."

"We understand," DiNozzo said. "We'll let you get caught up, but I'm afraid we can't let you be alone for the time being."

"What?" Ahmad asked. "Why?"

"Security Sweetie," Dukes answered. To the agents he said, "I figured when we all got pulled from Embassy duty without explanation, you guys were looking to see if any of us turned. I kept everyone from talking to each other so your investigation would be clean and we'd be clear."

"So why does that prevent us from being alone?" Ahmad asked.

"In order for our investigation to stay clean, we can't allow anyone to claim the two of you had an opportunity to create a cover story," McGee said.

"You'll stay on the couch tonight Gunny," Gibbs said. "Tomorrow we'll find somewhere to keep you safe." He moved toward the third bedroom and motioned for McGee to follow. As the two agents moved to McGee's Mini Command Center, DiNozzo tossed his jacket onto the chair.

"So," he said. "Who's up for pizza?"

"Sounds good," Dukes said and Ahmad nodded.

"Good," DiNozzo said. "It's a team effort." The two lovers shook their collective heads as they follow DiNozzo into the kitchen.

_.-~=]})*({[=~-._

"I want every last detail on everyone on that Embassy detail." Gibbs told McGee.

"Isn't that Agent Harmon's investigation?" McGee asked before seeing Gibbs's glare. "All the way back to birth Boss," he adjusted. "What are we looking for exactly?"

"How did the assassin know where to find the unit?" Gibbs asked.

"I'm also accessing everything we have on the assassin Boss."

"And bring up the video of her escape."

"I thought Harmon would already have briefed you."

"He sent a packet," Gibbs said. "Seemed like he was too busy playing at being a cop to do what he needed to do."

"Huh," McGee said.

"What?"

"It's weird," McGee said. "Her entire life history is here. It's like she's advertising her crimes."

"So she has a record."

"Not technically," McGee said.

"Then what technically?"

"Well, she's on everyone's radar," McGee said cycling through files and photos of the assassin. "But the closest anyone has come to arresting her was today."

"And Harmon let her slip through his fingers."

"Actually Dorneget let her slip through their fingers," McGee said, calling up the video. As the two agents watched Dorneget get knocked out and disarmed by the assassin, Gibbs couldn't figure out whether to go shoot the man himself or laugh at the guy's bad luck.

McGee had no such difficulty. He gave a quiet chuckle as Dorneget's head snapped back and his knees buckled. "The problem is," McGee said as the cameras lost Hubert. "The cameras on the exterior of the Navy yard are placed intermittently. She easily slipped through the holes in our security."

"Why am I only now learning there are holes in our security?" Gibbs said.

"Well, it never came up before," McGee said. "We've never lost a prisoner."

"Yeah," Gibbs said.

"But it looks like Director Vance has considered it," McGee added. "Last month, he sent a requisition to SecNav to increase the number of surveillance cameras and roving MPs within The Navy Yard."

"Let me guess."

"Pending."

"Alright," Gibbs said. "I'm hitting the sack. Tomorrow, I'm taking Gunny Dukes to my place. Make sure Harmon doesn't get Private Dukes killed, and have me everything on the Embassy Unit and what's her name when I get up."

"Right Boss," McGee said as Gibbs left the room. .

_.-~=]})*({[=~-._


	7. Seven

Tony sat in the chair, watching The Last Picture Show. He'd never gotten around to reading the Larry McMurtry book, but he loved watching Cybill Shepherd in her younger days. He'd seen the movie so often he really didn't need the sound. While Jacy was convincing Abilene to take her to the pool hall, Tony listened to Ahmad and Dukes talking about how they were going to live their lives after all of this was over. From the other room, McGee continued typing away at the computers getting all of the data the Boss asked for.

"I can't believe you're finally here," Dukes was saying. "Once your debriefing is finished, I'm gonna apply for early retirement."

"Darling, you can't just give up your career," Ahmad said. "Remember, I not only gave up my life in Palestine, I also forfeited all of my money."

"We'll make it," Dukes said.

It amazed Tony how all couples had the same problems and concerns. Bills, laundry, cooking… ooh cooking… He could go for a sandwich right now. As he stood, he looked over at the two lovers. It would be nice to let them have some time just to themselves, Tony was just that much of a romantic, but rules were rules.

"I'm gonna grab a sandwich," he said to them. "Either of you want anything?"

"Some tea please," Ahmad said. Dukes rose from his place and joined Tony as they entered the kitchen.

"I should really send him to bed soon," Dukes said once they were in the kitchen. "He's gonna feel like crap in the morning."

"Yeah," DiNozzo said. "He's not the only one."

As if on cue, McGee came into the kitchen to grab a soda. "I'm gonna catch a couple of hours sleep," he said. "The files Gibbs wanted are on the desk."

"I'll wake you at 6," Tony said. "Gibbs is gonna take Dukes to his place and then the two of you are gonna take Ahmad to the State Department while I sleep."

McGee nodded as he took a bite from his sandwich and made his way back to his mini-command center.

_.-~=]})*({[=~-._

Special Agent Mike Harmon closed the door and leaned against it. With his eyes closed, he gritted his teeth and suppressed a scream. This week was not going the way he wanted. Since the day they met, he and Gibbs did not get along. While Gibbs was a former marine and as rigid as the steel pole he held firmly up his ass, Harmon came to NCIS by way of Hollywood. Although it's true he used to be an actor, it didn't make him any less of a cop. He loved this job and he worked his ass off to get where he was, but it wasn't good enough for Gibbs. This assignment was his chance to prove he was good enough to fill the slot at MCRT. But barely a day into the assignment he'd already lost a suspect. He'd nearly gotten a couple of Marines killed and he'd totally lost control of the situation.

Fortunately, he still had his investigation of the embassy unit. If any of them had been flipped, he'd find out in a hurry. Maybe that would save his career. If he screwed this up, he'd not only be out of the running for coming on to MCRT, but he might lose his team altogether. He pushed off the door and headed for his car. The day was new and he needed to get to work and turn this week around. His first stop was at the motel where Marcus and Maria were staying. After picking them up, he headed straight to Quantico to interview the Marines from the Riyadh Embassy.

"Did you know Gibbs makes his team call him 'Boss'," Marcus asked as they pulled out of the motel parking lot.

"Mention Gibbs again, and you'll be walking back to the Navy Yard," Harmon replied.

"You got it 'Boss'," Marcus smiled.

"Call me Boss again and you'll have to walk to the Navy Yard from the hospital."

Marcus smiled at Mike pulled into traffic. On the way to the Base, Maria handed up the files she had on all of the Marines, allowing Marcus to look through them before giving them a quick brief on each Marine.

"There's something about this one," she said as she handed up PFC Melinda Lopez's file. "On paper, she's red, white, and blue through and through, but her financials don't add up."

"What do you mean they don't add up?" Harmon asked.

"She manages her bills fine, but sometimes she spends more than her paycheck covers, but she's never in debt. She's never paid for anything on credit, and her bank account only holds the bare minimum to keep it open."

"How often does she overspend?"

"Almost every month," de Pablo answered. "But some months she barely scrapes by with no overspending."

"Sounds like she may be susceptible to being bought," Marcus theorized.

"Maybe," Harmon said as they approached the main gate at Quantico.

_.-~=]})*({[=~-._

Tony couldn't believe the headache he was experiencing. It had been a long time since he had a hangover, but he never experienced one without getting drunk the night before. He would do anything for Ziva, any time she asked for help, but right now he wanted nothing more than to take her phone and shove it up her-

"Tony," she yelled through the phone. "Did you hear what I said?"

"Yeah," he answered. "I heard you. You want me to have McGee look into the financials for the orphanage where Abby's friend works."

"Correct," Ziva said.

"And why can't Abby do this?"

"She is busy with other things," she said.

"Alright," Tony groaned. "As soon as they get back, I'll put McSnooper on it."

"Thank you Tony," she said and paused briefly. "And I'm glad to hear you're ok."

"That's a subjective term right now," he said. "But thanks."

As quickly as the call disconnected, Tony closed his eyes and was asleep almost instantly.

_.-~=]})*({[=~-._

Crystal Hubert stopped four blocks from the State Department and got out of her car. If she was to find out where the NCIS agents were keeping al-Zuhri, she would need to track them from the State Department. She trekked the four blocks along Virginia Avenue. She would not be going directly to the State Department Building today, but she would be getting close.

When she first received this assignment and its details, she checked out the local businesses in case she needed a backup plan. It was a good idea as she now needed her backup plan. She entered the Pharmacy Technicians Certification Board Offices and went to the reception counter. Her heart rate barely changed though she knew at any moment security could pounce on her. She showed the receptionist her false identification and informed her that she had an appointment with Shelly MacGruder to discuss taking a job as a psychometrician. Hubert had no idea what a psychometrician was but it was the only job for which Shelly MacGruder was interviewing. She had to be in MacGruder's office because it gave her the best vantage for killing al-Zuhri as he exited the State Department Building.

_.-~=]})*({[=~-._

Tony woke to the sound of a quiet beeping. He really wanted more sleep, but his mind knew the sound, although quiet was important. He rolled over in the bed to look at the computer monitor. Sure enough someone was trying to enter the building. Tony sat up his pistol already in his hand. He moved into the living room just as the person on the monitor entered the building. Tony waited with his gun pointed at the door. A knock came and Tony looked at the door quizzically. What kind of assassin knocks on the door? He asked himself. Another knock came followed by a familiar voice.

"Agent DiNozzo, are you awake yet?"

Damn it, Tony thought as he clicked the safety into place and moved to the front door. "Gunny," he said when he opened the door. "What the hell are you doing here?"

"I needed to talk to you about something," Dukes said as Tony let him in.

"Do you realize you put Ahmad's life in danger?" Tony asked as he locked the door.

"I was careful," Dukes said. "I had the cab drop me off a few blocks away, went through a couple of apartment buildings, backtracked. Let's just say I could have been here an hour ago, but I was being careful."

"Ok, you were being careful," Tony said. "Now what's so important that you'd risk everything by coming here?"

"I wanted to let you guys know before that other agent finds out."

"Finds out what?"

"It's about Lopez," Dukes said. "She's been buying passports for Palestinians."

"What?"

"She thinks that's why we were pulled from embassy duty."

"It's not, but she's in a world of hurt," Tony said going into the living room to retrieve his phone.

"Agent DiNozzo," Dukes said following him. "She was buying them for girls."

Tony stopped and turned. "What?"

"One of Ahmad's bodyguards was buying passports from her to give to girls to come to the US and get a decent education. Ahmad knows nothing about it. I didn't even find out until we were almost stateside."

"Tell me everything," Tony said turning on his phone's voice recorder.

_.-~=]})*({[=~-._

"And you've already informed Gibbs," Director Vance said into the phone. "Ok, I'll pass it along to Harmon. Her intentions were noble, but the fact remains, her career is over. Go ahead and bring Dukes into NCIS, I'll make sure Gibbs brings al-Zuhri in when he's finished at State." Vance listened to DiNozzo confirm the order. "I'm sending a team over to shut down the safe house." Vance disconnected the line and was about to dial Harmon's cell when his secretary buzzed his intercom.

"Director, Agent Harmon is on line three," she said.

"Thank you," Vance said as he pushed the line button. "Harmon," he said into the phone. "I was just about to call you."

"Just wanted to let you know director, we're bringing one of the Marines in to book her," Harmon said.

"Let me guess," Vance said. "PFC Lopez has been selling passports."

"Do you even need investigators?" Harmon asked.

"I just found out," Vance answered. "What about the rest of the unit?"

"It's hard to believe that with six Marines, one was dating a Palestinian, one was selling passports to Palestinian kids, and no one else knew anything."

"Alright," Vance said. "This is getting ridiculous. I want all of them in here. Have Weatherly and de Pablo work on finding the girls Lopez sold the passports to. I want this cleaned up now."

"Got it," Harmon said.

Vance hung up the phone and leaned back in his chair, to think. After a moment, he rose and exited his office. "I'll be in Abby's lab," he told his secretary.

_.-~=]})*({[=~-._

"Director Vance," Carol Wilson said as Vance entered the lab. "How can I help you today?"

"I actually need Mr. Pearson's help," Vance said, looking around.

"He's down in property getting a gun," Carol said.

"Have him come up to my office when he's done," Vance said turning to leave. At the door, he paused and turned back. "Why does he need a gun?"

"He's gonna run a ballistics test," she answered. "He thinks he's figured out how that assassin made her bullets and wants to test his theory."

"How is that going to help us catch her?"

"According to him, there is a specific process to getting the bullets to turn out precisely right. If so, then it limits where she can make more. If she's intent on using her own brand and not using ones off the shelf, then we'll know where she may go to make them."

"Good thinking," Vance said. "In that case, maybe you can help me with something."

"Sure."

"Can you find me a way to track passports that may not have RFID chips?"

"Uh…" Carol said. "If they've been used I can track their entrances into any country. Do you have the types and numbers?"

"Not yet," Vance said. "But we have someone coming in that may have them."

"Ok," Carol said turning back to her work. "You get me the details and I'll track them down."

"Thank you," Vance said and left the lab.

"He could have just called down here to ask that," Carol said to herself when she could no longer hear Vance's footsteps.

"Called down for what?" Marty asked as he reached for the bullets he'd made.

"Director wants to track some passports."

"That's nice," Marty said as he began loading the berretta magazine. "Wanna shoot something?"

"Sure," she said joining him at the table.

_.-~=]})*({[=~-._

She had spent the last five hours with Shelly MacGruder. The woman took her on a tour of the building showing her the areas where she would need to be familiar. They were back in MacGruder's office now and Hubert kept an eye on the window while the woman continued to talk about the importance the position of psychometrician held. Finally at 2:30, she noticed movement across the way. She stood and walked around the desk for a better look at the State Department Building.

"Miss Adams," MacGruder said. "Is something the matter?"

"Yes," Hubert answered. "I'm afraid I won't be able to take the job after all." Hubert pulled the knife from her sleeve and spun quickly slashing the blade across the woman's throat. As MacGruder collapsed, Hubert removed a ceramic several items from her purse and concealed pouches within her clothes. Working quickly, she assembled the pieces and brought the complete rifle to the window. She opened the window slightly and watched as the black Dodge came around to the front of the building. As soon as the car stopped, she watched as her target and his guard left the building and quickly moved to the car. She took aim, leading her target slightly and pulled the trigger just before they got to the car.

_.-~=]})*({[=~-._

He couldn't explain it, he never could. It never really happened often but once in a while something made Gibbs react and he never ignored that instinct. This is one of those times. He grabbed Ahmad and pulled him down and to the right before he even realized why he was doing it. Just as they hit the ground, he heard the crack of a rifle. He spun Ahmad long ways and shoved him towards the car just as McGee rolled out of the passenger side, gun in hand.

The agents peered over the vehicle searching for the shooter as Secret Service Officers converged. Gibbs noticed something ahead and to the right and signaled McGee. Together the two men aimed their weapons toward a window barely opened on the second floor of the building across the way. They held position and waited, both knowing that to fire on the building without being certain that was where the shots came from could be disastrous.

"Pharmacy building, second floor," Gibbs called out to the Secret Service officers. He and McGee watched as many of the uniformed officers converge on the building. "McGee, get moving," he called as he opened the back door and crawled into the vehicle. He pulled Ahmad in and kept him low as the vehicle started to move.

"Boss, I'm taking alternate route four to the Navy Yard," McGee said noting two Secret Service patrol cars pulled out behind them.

"Just get us there McGee," Gibbs shouted as the door slammed shut from momentum.

_.-~=]})*({[=~-._


	8. Eight

If Very Special Agent Tony DiNozzo was concerned, Gunnery Sergeant Shawn Dukes was nearly apoplectic. He kept jumping up and pacing in front of DiNozzo's desk. After a few laps he would return to his seat by the window only to jump up again and pace.

"Any news?" he asked stopping in front of Tony.

"Not yet," Tony answered, teeth gritting in annoyance. Nothing made him more anxious than having someone around him anxious. The more nervous he became about the situation, the more he suppressed it. Subsequently, the more he suppressed his nerves though, the more likely he was to pop.

"Listen," he said releasing some of the steam. "Gibbs and McGee are the best there is. Ahmad is safe and on his way here as we speak. I wouldn't be surprised if they get off that elevator any second."

"More like a minute DiNozzo," Director Vance called from the top of the stairs. "They're on their way up."

Shawn gave an audible sigh of relief as he and DiNozzo turned to the elevator. DiNozzo's sigh was less noticeable, but no less relieving. As soon as the elevator opened, Shawn was there ready to grab Ahmad in an embrace. Gibbs stopped him before he even got close.

"I want you in the conference room now," he demanded of the Marine. "McGee, get the arrangements in order." As a passing agent led Dukes to the conference room, Gibbs waved Tony over to his desk.

"Boss, he just showed up earlier and wanted to talk about Lopez," Tony explained as Gibbs put his pistol in his desk drawer. "I'm still waiting for Harmon to bring her in for questioning, but he's not taking my calls."

"I've had about enough of that guy," Gibbs said. "Ahmad," he called, looking over his shoulder. "Come here." Ahmad gave McGee a confused look before going over to Gibbs's desk. "How do you feel about Israelis?" Gibbs asked him.

"You can't do that Boss," Tony said.

"I have no problem with them personally, if they can look over the fact that I am former Hamas," Ahmad answered.

"Get Ziva in here," Gibbs told Tony.

"I can't Boss," Tony said.

"DiNozzo," Gibbs said slapping his hand down on his desk. "Get her in here so I can get rid of those clowns now."

"Boss, she's working another case," McGee said from his desk.

"What case?"

"She's um helping Abby investigate the convent where her friend died last week."

Gibbs looked around in a mixture of wonder and frustration. When did his team start keeping things from him? "Ahmad, can you take a seat over there," he said waving to Ziva's desk. To his team he said, "Tell me."

Tony and McGee spent the next twenty minutes bringing Gibbs up to date on Abby's case. When they brought him up to the present, Gibbs thought for a moment before spinning around to his computer. "McGee, get Ziva those financial statements. DiNozzo, find me that assassin. Ahmad, Tell me about Lopez and your bodyguard."

"Melinda Lopez?" Ahmad asked.

"Yeah."

"I was not aware that they had a relationship."

"Alright," Gibbs said rising from his desk. "Come with me."

_.-~=]})*({[=~-._

Gibbs put the folder on the conference table as Ahmad took the seat Gibbs pointed out to him directly across from Dukes. "I want to know everything about Lopez." He said once he was seated.

"On the way back stateside," Dukes began. "She came up to me and told me she had something to tell me about what she was doing in Riyadh."

"And that was."

"She had been procuring blank passports for Safir, Ahmad's bodyguard," Dukes began. "Her brother had a child by a woman in Kuwait in the aftermath of Desert Storm and it took so much to get her niece to the states going through proper channels. I don't really know how she and Safir started their business, but one of the first people to come to the states through their efforts was her niece's mother."

"Who has been coming over since?" Gibbs asked.

"From what she told me, the passports were for girls who had lost their parents. Safir wanted to bring them to the US where they could learn and make a good life instead of finding their way to the ghettos of Pakistan."

"How many?"

"She didn't say."

"How did she deliver them?"

"She didn't say."

"How did she get paid?"

"She didn't say," Dukes shook his head.

"What the hell did she say?" Gibbs asked.

"Just what I told you," Dukes said. "I know it isn't much, but she can give you more details."

"Yeah," Gibbs said as he picked up the folder. Standing up, he motioned for Ahmad to follow him and they left the conference room.

"You do know if he was complicit in this, he could be dishonorably discharged and arrested," Gibbs said as they made their way back to the bullpen.

"I am confident he knew nothing about it," Ahmad said.

"How can you be sure?"

"Safir has been my best friend since childhood. It is how he got the job as my bodyguard."

"So?"

"So even I didn't know about it."

_.-~=]})*({[=~-._

Harmon and Weatherly waited for de Pablo to bring in the next Marine. Thus far, of the four Marines they interviewed, none of them seemed suspicious. Last on the list was Melinda Lopez, the one DiNozzo wanted them to bring back to the office. Gibbs's boy had been trying to call all day, but Harmon ignored every call, sending a message to Gibbs that he was running this investigation.

The door opened and Maria walked in with the last Marine on their interview list, PFC Melinda Lopez. As the Marine took her seat, Maria stood at the door and Weatherly handed over a sheet of paper.

"Private First Class Melinda Lopez," Weatherly began. "We are Special Agents Michael Harmon, Maria de Pablo, and Marcus Weatherly, investigating agents from Naval Criminal Investigative Services. We are investigating the alleged offense(s) of treason and sedition, of which you are suspected. I advise you that under the provisions of Article 31, UCMJ, you have the right to remain silent, that is, say nothing at all. Any statements you make, oral or written, may be used as evidence against you in a trial by court-martial or in other judicial or administrative proceedings. You have the right to consult a lawyer and to have a lawyer present during this interview. You have the right to military legal counsel free of charge. In addition to military counsel, you are entitled to civilian counsel of your own choosing, at your own expense. You may request a lawyer at any time during this interview. If you decide to answer questions, you may stop the questioning at any time. Do you understand your rights?"

"Yes," Lopez answered.

"Do you want a lawyer?" Weatherly asked.

"Yes please," Lopez answered.

"Do you have a preferred attorney or will anyone from JAG work for you?"

"I need Commander Gregory Vukovic." Lopez said.

"Vukovic?" Weatherly said. "May I ask why him?"

"He got my mother's brother out of some trouble back in '05," Lopez answered.

"Private Lopez," Harmon said as he stood and pulled out his handcuffs. "We need to transport you back to NCIS headquarters where Commander Vukovic will meet us, if he's available."

_.-~=]})*({[=~-._

"Boss," McGee said as Gibbs and Ahmad walked around the corner. "I just sent Ziva the information she wanted. Looks like she's on to an adoption fraud."

"What about Abby," Gibbs said.

"I tried calling her," McGee said. "She's not answering."

"Try her again."

"Yes Boss."

"And where the hell is Harmon?"

"Still not answering my calls Boss," Tony said.

Gibbs tossed the file he was holding onto his desk and turned for the stairs. "I've had enough of this crap," he said as he moved to the upper level.

_.-~=]})*({[=~-._

Hubert closed her bag and slung it over her shoulder. She just got off the phone giving her employer her report of success and was preparing to leave the country as soon as the money transfer completed. She checked her account again and saw no activity. This concerned her but not overly so. She took her bag to the door and sat it down intending to run down the block for a pack of cigarettes before her flight. Just as she touched the knob, her phone rang.

"Allo," she said.

"I am afraid we will be unable to transfer the funds at this time," a male voice said.

"Why?" she asked in English.

"Because you task is not yet complete," he answered. "Ahmad al-Shaitan still lives as does his whore."

"I shot him barely an hour ago," she said frustrated. She saw the man go down when she fired the shot. The bodyguard tried to get him safe, but she was positive of her shot.

"Then it is strange indeed that the press claims no one was injured in the attack," the voice replied. With that he disconnected the call. A moment later a she turned on the TV and switched the channel to ZNN. To her astonishment, they were playing a video clip from the State Department security cameras. She saw al-Zuhri was indeed alive. She watched him scramble into the vehicle as it pulled out and headed to safety. How could this be? She asked herself. And how am I going to get to him now?

Hubert growled in frustration as she grabbed her bag from beside the door. She knew al-Zuhri was being protected by NCIS. It's possible that's where the targets were now. She was familiar with the area. The two of them would die tonight, if she had to kill everyone in the Navy to do it.

_.-~=]})*({[=~-._

"Boss," Tony said stepping into Vance's office. "Harmon just came up with Lopez in cuffs."

"Leon." Gibbs said.

"Alright," Vance answered getting up and going with DiNozzo and Gibbs.

As the trio passed the bullpen, McGee called over to him, "Boss, I still can't get Abby to answer. Ziva is heading back to the convent, she thinks something is wrong."

Gibbs, Vance and Tony stopped dead in their tracks and turned to him. "DiNozzo," Vance said.

"McGee and I are on our way Director," Tony said going to his desk to retrieve his weapon.

"Ahmad," Gibbs said. "Go to the conference room and stay there until we get back." He flagged over another agent and ordered her to watch over Dukes and al-Zuhri until he returned.

As they continued to the interrogation room, the elevator opened and a Navy Lieutenant Commander stepped off.

"Excuse me," he said. "Oh, Agent Gibbs."

"Is there something we can do for you Roberts," Gibbs asked as McGee and Tony edged past them onto the elevator.

Lieutenant Commander Bud Roberts felt like a Junior Grade Lieutenant in the presence of Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs. It had been over a decade, but he still remembered the events that placed the two of them at odds, when Gibbs nearly had Bud's friend and mentor, Commander Harmon Rabb, charged with murder.

"Y- You can show me to my client," Bud said his confidence returning.

"Who is you client?" Vance asked.

Bud looked down at the note in his hand and read, "Private First Class Melinda Lopez."

_.-~=]})*({[=~-._

Bud looked over the Article 31 form and asked Lopez if it was her signature at the bottom. After she confirmed, he sat down and asked her to brief him on the accusations levied at her.

"Where is Commander Vukovic?" Lopez asked.

"He is currently in Quam working a case." Bud answered. "If I may ask, how do you know Commander Vukovic?"

"He saved my uncle from a court martial eight years ago in Baghdad."

Bud thought for a minute then nodded his head. "Hoke Smith is your uncle," he said.

"Was," Lopez answered. "He got caught by an IED a year later."

"I'm sorry to hear that," Bud said. "Now tell me about these charges. It says here you knowingly supplied blank passports to an enemy operative."

"A year or so ago," Lopez began. "Our unit commander started hanging out with this guy that would come to Riyadh every now and then. When he came, we would all go out for drinks. Nothing bad mind you, we were just a bunch of people grabbing drinks and having fun. No one discussed work or politics or anything."

"When did that change?" Bud asked.

"A few months after we met Ahmad and Safir, I was out shopping and saw a girl on the street. She was just sitting there and I felt so sorry for her that I bought her something to eat and gave her a little money."

"You know that's not always a good idea in the Middle East, even in Riyadh," Bud said.

"I know," she answered. "I just felt so sorry for her." She looked down at the table and took a breath as though to brace herself. "The thing is, Safir saw me and came up to me. We walked around for a while just talking before he told me he saw what I did for the girl. That's when I found out he and Ahmad were from Palestine."

"You didn't know before?"

"No. I just thought they were diplomats." Bud made a note on his pad. "Anyway," she continued. "He told me about a program he was working with that was working to get orphaned girls out of Palestine and into America where they could get a good education and have a future."

Bud looked puzzled but motioned for her to continue.

"He told me that one of their biggest problems was getting them visas."

"So you just volunteered to get them?"

"No," she exclaimed. "No, I did go with him and met some of the girls he had brought to Riyadh. He was hoping that the Saudi Government could help and keep them safe. After a few days, one of the girls disappeared. We found out that she'd been kidnapped and sold into prostitution."

"Were you able to find her?"

"No," she said, wiping a tear that suddenly formed. "But I decided that the Saudis weren't helping enough. I knew how to get the travel documents, so I got enough for all of the girls."

"How many was that?" Bud asked.

"That time was six."

"That time?"

"Yeah," she said. "We ended up sending girls over six or seven at a time. There was about twenty of them in the past year."

"All of them were on travel visas."

"No," she said. "I wanted to make sure they would be able to stay, so I got them regular passports."

"Ok," Bud said. "There is definitely culpability here, but I think I can get you a deal if you give NCIS a list of the names on the passports."

"I can't" Lopez said.

"I know you're worried for these girls," Bud said. "But it's important that if you're going to help them we do so through proper channels."

"I know that," Lopez said. "But I don't know what names Safir put on the passports."

"Wha-" Bud began. "Do you mean you gave him blank passports?" Lopez nodded and lowered her head. "Do you remember the names of the girls he gave them to?"

"I remember the first six," Lopez said. "But after that, we agreed that it would be dangerous for both of us and maybe the girls if we were seen too often."

"So you gave him blank passports without even meeting any of the other girls." Lopez nodded her head and looked down at the table as tears rolled down her cheeks. "How did you get them to him?"

"Whenever the team joined him and Ahmad for drinks, I'd bring him a few passports."

"And what was Ahmad's role in all of this?"

"None," Lopez answered. "He was more focused on having fun. Safir eventually told me that Ahmad's dad was a Hamas leader. He said that he thought Ahmad would eventually leave Hamas, but he couldn't abandon the girls."

"Melinda," Bud sighed. "I'm not going to lie to you. You're in serious trouble." Melinda began weeping again. "We need to be able to track those girls. Do you have the passport ID numbers?" Melinda sniffled and nodded her head. "Ok," he said. "I think we can get somewhere. We need to get NCIS those IDs. Let me call JAG and see if we can work out a deal."

_.-~=]})*({[=~-._


	9. Nine

Commander Roberts disconnected his call and turned to Gibbs, Vance and Harmon. "Admiral Winslow has agreed to dishonorable discharge and five years if she gives you the passport IDs," Bud said. "I need to advise her and find out how she wants to proceed. Who has this one?"

"Gibbs, you take it," Vance said. "Harmon and I have business to discuss." Gibbs and Harmon stared each other for a moment before Vance insisted Harmon follow him to his office. Bud re-entered the interrogation room while Gibbs went into observation. Because lawyer-client privilege was a right accorded the accused, there was no audio, so Gibbs couldn't listen in on what was going on, but after only a couple of minutes, he saw Lopez nod her head and Bud looked up at the two-way mirror and waved him in. Gibbs let the tech know he could start recording the events of the interrogation room and left to join Roberts and Lopez.

"Private Lopez," Gibbs said as he sat at the table. "I'm told you've already been informed of your Article 31 rights, however to be safe, I am Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs, investigating agent from Naval Criminal Investigative Services. I am investigating the alleged offense of selling US passports to non US citizens, of which you are suspected. I advise you that under the provisions of Article 31, UCMJ, you have the right to remain silent, that is, say nothing at all. Any statements you make, oral or written, may be used as evidence against you in a trial by court-martial or in other judicial or administrative proceedings. You have the right to consult a lawyer and to have a lawyer present during this interview. You have the right to military legal counsel free of charge. In addition to military counsel, you are entitled to civilian counsel of your own choosing, at your own expense. You may request a lawyer at any time during this interview. If you decide to answer questions, you may stop the questioning at any time. Do you understand your rights?"

"Yes," Lopez said.

"You are represented by Commander Bud Roberts from the Judge Advocate General's Office. Are you willing to answer questions?"

"Yes," Lopez said.

"Private Lopez," Gibbs began. "We began investigating the possibility that one or more of your unit may have been aiding enemy operatives while serving as embassy guards in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia." He waited for Lopez to react before continuing. "During the course of our investigation, allegations have been made that you personally have been involved with enemy operatives in obtaining blank passports for non US citizens. Do you have anything to say to these charges?"

"Yes," Lopez said. She squared her shoulders and looked Gibbs in the eye.

_.-~=]})*({[=~-._

"Why did you give Gibbs my case?" Harmon asked after he closed the door to Vance's office.

"Gibbs and his team had important information for you concerning this investigation," Vance said.

"Yeah," Harmon responded. "DiNozzo called me this morning and told me what Dukes said. I was working on it."

"Did DiNozzo also inform you that you should bring Lopez into the office so he could discuss this development with her?"

Harmon put his hands on his hips and nodded. "Yeah," he said with a sigh. "And I decided to go ahead and investigate the allegations. Gibbs and his team should be focusing on keeping their guy safe, not taking over my investigation."

"Did it occur to you that the safety of Ahmad al-Zuhri and the actions of PFC Lopez and his bodyguard may be connected?"

"I don't see how their side business could have anything to do with keeping al-Zuhri safe."

"Really?" Vance asked. "Maybe their side business would give them incentive to work with whoever hired the hitman, or hit woman in this case."

"That would mean they knew who hired her."

"Safir works for Hamas!" Vance snapped. "Do you think he doesn't know who hired her?"

Harmon sighed as he looked around the office. "I'm sorry Leon," he said. "I was focusing on finding out if those Marines were dirty and clearing them if they weren't."

"So why didn't you take the help that was offered?"

"Because I wanted to do it myself," Harmon exclaimed. "If I had found a connection between Lopez and the assassin I would have informed Gibbs."

"Do you know why Gibbs runs the MCRT and you're stuck in Silverdale?" Vance didn't wait for a response. "Gibbs has a lot of personality problems, but he doesn't have an ego. When he sees that he needs more than just his team to help him he allows them to help. He understands that his team isn't always limited to the three agents under him. It consists of this entire agency. When you learn that and put your personal problems aside, you might find yourself here in DC more often."

"Come on Leon," Harmon said. "You know I work well with other agents. Hell, I personally called in Red Team last month to help us with the serial rapist. Summerskill and I got along great and we worked together to catch those guys."

"Summerskill isn't Gibbs," Vance said. "Listen, the investigation is still yours. I want it cleared before the weekend. Gibbs is questioning Lopez in case she and al-Zuhri's bodyguard are connected to the assassination attempts. Jag is probably already moving on the passports. I want you to find out if she's been compromised further."

Harmon stood a little straighter. "Yes sir," he said. "And dig deep into the rest of the unit, including Dukes."

"Yes sir," Harmon repeated. "With your permission, I want to interview him while he's still here."

"Go to it."

_.-~=]})*({[=~-._

Michael Harmon descended the stairs feeling better about his position. As he reached the bullpen, the elevator doors opened. He barely noticed the woman coming off until the agent escorting her called his name.

"Agent Harmon," he said. "This is Anita Fairmont from the State Dep-" the agent didn't get to finish the introduction because he found himself in a stranglehold with a gun pointed at his temple.

"Drop the gun!" Harmon shouted, as he drew his own weapon. Hubert responded by firing a shot at him. Fortunately, he managed to dive behind DiNozzo's desk in time to avoid being hit. Several agents appeared out of nowhere all pointing their weapons at her.

"Everyone, drop your weapons or this man's brains will ruin my new jacket!" she shouted. She smiled as she noted none of them complied. She swung her pistol to the right and fired while keeping her head just behind her hostage's head. The shot was accurate and one agent went down.

"I want Ahmad al-Zuhri and Shawn Dukes brought to me now!" she called.

_.-~=]})*({[=~-._

Gibbs heard the shot and looked towards the door. His sig was in his desk, but he still had his .38 strapped to his ankle. "Stay here," he said to Roberts and Lopez. He dashed out the door and raced down the hall. He heard a second shot coming from the bullpen area. With his .38 in hand he edged around the corner and saw someone holding an agent hostage. Beyond them he saw another agent down with blood pouring from his wound.

"I want Ahmad al-Zuhri and Shawn Dukes brought to me now!" he heard the woman shout. Dammit, he thought. She's got balls. He pressed himself as close to the wall as he could get and hoped he was out of sight and waited.

"Crystal Hubert," he heard Vance shout. "Put your weapon down and let Agent Walker go."

"I said bring me al-Zuhri and Dukes," Hubert answered. "I won't negotiate."

"Neither will we," Vance said. "I'm not bringing them out here just to be executed."

"We'll see," Hubert said and fired another shot towards the bullpen. Gibbs heard a body hit the floor and wonder briefly if it was Vance.

"Now," Hubert said. "Bring me al-Zuhri and Dukes."

Gibbs waited, hoping she'd give him the opening. He saw movement at the same time she did, someone crossed the room and she swung to face them. Gibbs fired at the same time she did. He fired three shots to her back. As she and Agent Walker went down, he and the remaining agents converged on her. Harmon got to her first and cleared her weapon. Gibbs grabbed Walker's wrist and pulled him clear. Harmon had her handcuffed while Gibbs checked Walker to make sure he wasn't hit. He looked around and saw that the two agents that were shot were being attended to and he looked at Harmon.

"How did you know I'd be there?" he asked.

Harmon smiled as he rolled Hubert onto her back. "I knew you had to have heard those shots," he said. "And I know you're not the kind of guy who would just sit back and let someone else handle this."

"It took balls to cross that opening."

"I'm just glad you were there."

Gibbs moved toward the conference room and nodded to Vance as he passed. Vance raised an eyebrow and Gibbs stopped. Shaking his head, he turned back. "Mike," he said. When Harmon looked his way he said, "Good job." Harmon smiled as Gibbs went to check on Ahmad and Dukes.

_.-~=]})*({[=~-._

Tony called Ziva as they left NCIS to let her know they couldn't get in touch with Abby. Ziva let them know that the adoptions over the past decade were bogus. She suspected Father Thomas was trafficking the children and he may have taken everyone hostage if he discovered they were on to him. Tony and McGee pulled into the alley just behind the convent. He and McGee were instantly out of the car with pistols in hand. Tony pointed to himself and then to the right of the building. He pointed to McGee and then to the left. As he rounded the corner on the side next to the church, McGee rounded the opposite corner. Tony went to the front door and waited twenty seconds before going in, his gun leading the way.

He cleared the main room and moved to the next. He heard a door open to his left and aimed that way in time to see McGee enter the room. A moment later, they entered next room, clearing it as well. McGee indicated with gestures that Tony should take point on the next door. On a silent three count, McGee pulled the door open and Tony burst through, going low and to the right, sweeping toward the center of the room. McGee followed staying high to the left and sweeping straight. Each room on the main floor was clear, so McGee pointed to the stairs that led to the cells, library and chapel. It took four minutes for the two of them to clear the convent.

"We should check the dorms next," McGee said when they reconvened in the library.

"How many nuns are at this convent?" Tony asked.

"Eleven," McGee said. "Well thirteen counting Abby and Ziva," he nodded.

"Plus a ton of kids," Tony added.

The two of them slipped out the back door and headed for the dorms. This time McGee took point while Tony backed him up. As soon as Tony opened the door, they poured into the building the same as they had the convent. Within five minutes they had cleared both dorms with no sign of Abby, Ziva or the nuns. Just as they were preparing to leave McGee noticed the files on the table in the common room.

"They were here," he said, looking through the files.

"Let's check the church," Tony said.

They stopped in their tracks when they heard a car door slam. McGee and Tony looked out the window and saw two men walking into the church.

"I know that guy," Tony said. "Let's go."

The two of them moved quickly from the dorms to the side door of the church. This time McGee went in first after Tony opened the door. They moved quickly and quietly down the hallway, clearing each room as they went. They came to an intersection with a hall going right and a door directly across from it. They saw a light flash behind them and both of them spun around with their guns pointed straight at Ziva.

She quickly made her way to them as quietly as a shadow.

"Where is Abby," she whispered.

"We don't know yet," Tony answered. "This place is deserted. No one at the convent or the orphanage,"

"They must still be here," she surmised. "Father Thomas's car is still here."

"We saw two men coming in here," McGee added.

"One of them was Palestinian," Tony whispered. "Ahmad al-Zuhri's former bodyguard."

Ziva nodded, not allowing that information to distract her. "The door to the left is the nave," she whispered. "If they have all of the nuns and the children, they'll probably be in there." McGee nodded and Ziva and Tony slipped past him to hug the wall on the other side of the closed door. Ziva carefully twisted the handle and opened the door just a crack. She peered into the room and saw twelve nuns, eleven of whom had their heads bowed in prayer. She scanned the pews and found the children sitting bound and gagged. The nun who wasn't praying suddenly looked at the door and her eyes widened. Her eyes quickly flicked to the front of the room before she blinked three times.

Ziva placed a finger between the door and the frame and motioned to Tony and McGee that there were three men at the front of the nave. McGee grabbed the doorknob and Ziva raised a finger. On the three-count, McGee swung the door open allowing Ziva to rush in aiming high and to the right of the door bringing the three men into her sights. Tony followed aiming low and to the left with McGee bringing up the rear moving to Ziva's left and staying behind Tony. The three men reacted by aiming their weapons at them. Ziva and McGee fired quickly dropping all three of them. As Tony cleared the room and McGee covered her, Ziva approached the three men and cleared their weapons by kicking them away from them.

Tony ran to Abby and removed the tape from her mouth. "Are there any more of them?" he asked her.

"No" she said as he cut the tape off her. As soon as she was free, she threw her arms around him and hugged him close. "I knew you guys would save us," she cried.

"Abs," McGee said, coming over to her and pulling her into a hug. "Tell us what happened."

As Tony worked to release the rest of the hostages, Ziva placed Father Thomas and one of the others in zip-tie restraints. The third was dead and wouldn't need them.

"Father Thomas got the drop on us," Abby said. "He's been pretending to get these kids adopted and selling them to foreigners as slaves. I don't know who these two are."

"The smiling ray of sunshine there is Safir al-Ajami," Tony said. "Human trafficker and former bodyguard to one Ahmad al-Zuhri."

"Boss," McGee said into his phone. "We found Abby. And we have some news about Ahmad's bodyguard."

_.-~=]})*({[=~-._

"Got it McGee," Gibbs said before closing his phone. He turned a stare onto Ahmad al-Zuhri. "Did you know about Safir trafficking children?"

Ahmad looked at him stunned. "I thought you said he was smuggling children here to save them from poverty," he said after a moment.

"Yeah, well that what he told Lopez he was doing," Gibbs said as he sat down.

"How could he have been doing this without me knowing?"

"Good question," Gibbs said. "And one I want an answer to."

"I swear to you Agent Gibbs," Ahmad said. "I knew nothing of what Safir was doing. I didn't think he did anything but follow me all day and keep me safe."

"So he had to have been conducting business with your knowledge."

"No," Ahmad shook his head. "I swear to you. I never knew."

"Then how could he have gotten it past you?" Gibbs wondered.

"I do not know," Ahmad answered. "Unless he was arranging all of this on his days off."

"I thought taking a day off went against Palestinian work ethics," Gibbs said.

"No," Ahmad said with his head in his hand. "I mean normally it does, but I began giving him a day off occasionally when Shawn and I wanted to be alone."

"How did Safir react to your relationship?"

"Safir is progressive enough to accept who I am," Ahmad said. "I would give him a day off because he is also Muslim enough to not want to be a party to my lifestyle. Besides, making love is an act for which I do not wish to have an audience."

Gibbs interrogated Ahmad for another twenty minutes trying to catch him in a lie or find a way that Safir could have been trafficking American children without his knowledge. A knock on the door ended the conversation as Gibbs stepped out to find his team back and in one piece.

_.-~=]})*({[=~-._


	10. Ten

Ahmad and Dukes watched the interrogation through the two-way mirror from the observation room with Tony and McGee as Gibbs sat across from his former bodyguard.

"How many children have you sold into slavery?" Gibbs asked.

"I am a diplomatic envoy of the Palestinian Government," Safir said. "I wish to speak with someone from my embassy."

Ahmad watched Gibbs's back stiffen slightly. It irritated him that Safir would likely get diplomatic immunity, which would allow him to evade prosecution for his crimes. "Is there anything that can be done?" he asked Tony.

"Not if the embassy gives him immunity," Tony answered.

They watched as Gibbs left the interrogation room. When the door opened to the observation room, they all turned. Gibbs leaned in, pointed to Ahmad and motioned for him to follow. Once they were in the hallway walking back towards the bullpen, he looked to Gibbs.

"Do you think the embassy knows you're defecting yet?" Gibbs asked him.

"If my mother is here, then yes," Ahmad answered. "Why?"

"I was hoping that you could use your influence to have them revoke his immunity."

Ahmad thought for a second. "I am willing to try," he said.

Gibbs pointed to DiNozzo's desk while he moved to his own. "Dial nine to get out," he said picking up his own phone.

_.-~=]})*({[=~-._

"So what do we do now?" Tony asked.

"Not much we can do until Gibbs gets back," McGee replied.

"We could shoot him," Dukes said. "Save the trouble."

Tony thought about that for a moment. "Better not," he said. "Gibbs might be upset."

At that moment, McGee's cellphone rang. "Yeah Abs," he answered. "Nothing, I'm just watching al-Ajami with Tony and Dukes. Why? I'm on my way."

"What's goin' on?" DiNozzo asked.

"Abby says she needs help with something." As he walked out, Tony and Dukes turned back to the window.

_.-~=]})*({[=~-._

Ahmad hung up the phone and put his head into his hands. He knew what he had to do, but how could he do it? He looked over at Gibbs's desk and saw it empty. He got up and moved to the elevator.

"If you're going," Gibbs said from behind him. "You might want to let Shawn know."

Ahmad looked down the hall before shaking his head. "He would just try to stop me."

"And he'd have a right to."

"No," Ahmad said. "He wouldn't. Safir has to pay for what he has done. This is the only way."

Gibbs nodded his head. "We better get going then."

_.-~=]})*({[=~-._

Crystal Hubert opened her eyes and glanced around. She saw a man standing outside her door and took a deep breath, feeling sharp pain in her back. She really should have worn a vest today. As she let it out slowly, she felt the pain in her back subsided slightly. She took another deep breath and slowly exhaled. She continued this exercise for five minutes until her mind cleared and she could focus on her surroundings and not her pain. She estimated that she would have about fifteen minutes to do what she needed before the pain returned to the center of her conscious.

She reached under her gown and pulled back the piece of latex under her breast and allowed the small piece of metal drop into her hand. She then took the key and unlocked the handcuff. Once free, she reached over and pried the back of the EKG monitor loose and slipped the key inside. Feeling around, she found the contact points and pressed the key onto them, receiving a small shock for her effort. The new tingling pain was worth it though. She smiled as the display shut off. She waited for the nurse to respond.

"Is there a problem?" she heard the man outside ask.

"I don't know, her monitor just stopped," a woman answered. The door swung open and the man leaned in with his weapon drawn. Seeing her still in the bed he secured the pistol and allowed the nurse to enter.

"Looks like her monitor just malfunctioned," the nurse said to him. The man nodded and backed out of the room. Once the door closed, she moved quickly. She snatched the pen out of the nurse's pocket and jammed it into her throat. She then jumped from the bed, bringing her pillow case up and placing it over the wound and wrapped it quickly. After tucking the makeshift bandage into place, Hubert slipped out of her gown as the nurse fell onto the bed. In a matter of moments, she had stripped the scrubs from the dead nurse and had them on. She put the nurse on the bed and placed the blanket over her before heading for the door. This was the risky part. She needed to get far enough from the agent as possible before he realized she was not the nurse. She opened the door and stepped out. "All fixed," she said as she walked down the hall. The agent at the door looked in and saw the bed occupied before returning to his vigil.

Once she rounded the corner, Hubert picked up the pace a bit and headed for the elevator. Two minutes later, she was in the basement and checking each door she passed until she found the nurses locker room. She didn't know which locker belonged to the nurse she just killed, but she didn't really need to know. After a quick search, she found an open locker with nothing more than a shoestring and a couple of paper clips. She grabbed the paper clips and turned to the first one with a padlock. After a moment, the lock sprang open and she grabbed the purse inside. A quick look brought her a set of keys and a wallet with twenty dollars inside. She took the keys out of the purse before slinging it onto her shoulder and left the locker room. Three minutes later, she entered the parking building and began pushing the lock button on the key ring. She had to walk down two levels before she heard the first telltale beep of the car alarm being engaged. She pressed it again, looking around and saw the headlights flash on a Nissan Maxima. Within two more minutes, Crystal Hubert was out of the hospital complex and headed for her hotel room, hoping NCIS hadn't yet figured out where it was.

_.-~=]})*({[=~-._

Ahmad and Gibbs walked down the hall of the Palestinian embassy escorted by a young man in a Tessori Uomo suit. When they reached the ambassador's office, the escort knocked and opened the door. When they entered, the ambassador thanked the escort, excusing him and looked at Ahmad.

"Special Agent Gibbs," the ambassador said. "Could you wait outside a moment?"

"I don't think so," Gibbs said.

"It's alright Gibbs," Ahmad said.

"You sure?"

"Yes," he said. "This conversation must happen, and I'm afraid you cannot be present for it."

"Alright," Gibbs said. "I'm outside if you need me."

Gibbs stepped back outside and closed the door. A moment later a side door opened and Magdala al-Zuhri entered the ambassador's office.

"Hello Mother," Ahmad said.

"Do not call me that," she spat. "I could never give birth to an abomination."

"I am sorry you feel that way," he said. He watched as his mother raised her weapon. He closed his eyes and offered a silent prayer before he heard three shots ring out.

Gibbs burst through the door and stopped short, remembering that the front desk required him to leave his weapon there. He looked down at al-Zuhri and saw the blood pooling under his body.

"You have your Almwt trtyb satisfied," he said looking up at Magdala. "Dukes doesn't have to die as well."

Magdala looked at the body on the floor then up to Gibbs. "If the whore stays away, he can live," she said as she and her bodyguards left the room.

Gibbs watched her leave then turned to the ambassador. "Ambassador," he said.

"Safir al-Ajami has no diplomatic immunity with Palestine," the man said, handing a document to Gibbs.

"One more thing," Gibbs said. "Ahmad was under my protection. I would like my people to claim the body."

"I cannot have it," the ambassador said.

"They'll be discreet," Gibbs promised. "The official word will be he was assassinated on the street." The ambassador thought for a moment before nodding his head. Gibbs dialed his phone and waited. "Ducky," he said when the call connected. "Bring an SUV to the Palestinian Embassy Garage. Yeah. Ahmad's been killed."

_.-~=]})*({[=~-._

Doctor Donald "Ducky" Mallard knelt beside the body and spread out the body bag. Such a terrible waste, he thought to himself. He motioned for his assistant, Jimmy Palmer to grab Ahmad's legs as he slipped his own hands under the shoulders. He started a bit and looked up to Gibbs.

"It's alright Duck," Gibbs said. "By dying, he helped get a monster off the streets."

Ducky nodded and strained as he and Jimmy shifted the body onto the bag. After closing the zipper most of the way, the two of them with the help of Gibbs lifted the bag onto the gurney for its journey to the garage and the waiting SUV. Gibbs and two embassy guards escorted the body and the medical examiners to the garage and helped slide the bag into the back of the SUV.

"Thank you gentlemen," Ducky said to the guards. "Your gurney made this task much easier."

"I'll meet you back at the office Duck," Gibbs said, returning upstairs with one of the guards. With the document in his pocket, Gibbs collected his weapon and left the embassy.

_.-~=]})*({[=~-._

Shawn Dukes read the headline again. "Son of Hamas Leader Slain in Street," it read. The report told of Ahmad al-Zuhri defecting to America and helping to heal the rift between Palestine and both America and Israel. It went on to claim that he was approached by a mugger in the middle of the night and shot to death prior to being robbed. DC Metro would be looking into the case, but no suspects were named. Dukes lowered the paper and looked across the table in shock and disbelief.

"How could you do this?" he asked.

"Safir needed to pay for his crimes," Gibbs said. "The embassy would not deny him immunity without Ahmad going there personally."

"You should have told me," Dukes said.

"Why?" Gibbs asked. "So you could try to talk him out of it?"

"Yes!"

"Wouldn't have worked. Safir betrayed Ahmad. He betrayed Islam, and he caused untold pain to those children."

"Well," Dukes said with tears rolling down his face. "Now you have him on his way to prison. I hope you are happy. When I heard Dr. Mallard tell Tony Ahmad was dead, I nearly died myself."

"I'm sorry," Ahmad said to him. "There really was no time."

"What if she had shot you in the head?"

"I broke her heart," Ahmad explained. "She wanted justice for that."

"If I had lost you," Dukes said. "I would have…"

"I think that's what Magdala is hoping for," Gibbs interjected.

"What do you mean?" Ahmad asked.

"Here's a copy of tomorrow's headline," Gibbs said sliding a piece of paper across to them.

"Celebrated Marine Commits Suicide," the headline read.

"What?" both Ahmad and Dukes asked simultaneously.

"The reasons won't be given," Gibbs said. "But Magdala will know. You're both dead and she won't have any reason to come look for you." The two men looked at each other, then back to Gibbs. "You'll finish giving your information to the State Department via a CIA handler. You'll be given new identities and placed in a secure location where you can live happily ever after."

Both men looked at Gibbs in wonder. Ahmad breathed a sigh of relief as he leaned back and contemplated the beauty of the situation. He swore before God that if he and Dukes ever adopted, it would be a boy they would name Jethro. Gibbs smiled at them as the news sank in and stood up to leave. On his way out, his cellphone rang.

"Gibbs," he said, answering the unknown number.

"You cost me a five million dollar bounty," the woman said to him with a German accent.

"Why don't you come by and I'll make good on it," he said.

"Don't worry," she said. "I'll see you some day." She disconnected the call and he continued his trip to the bullpen.

"I'll keep a light on for ya," he said. As he rounded the corner he saw Tony and McGee at work at their desks, putting the finishing touches on their reports. From the corner of his eye, he saw Abby coming down the hall and he turned to intercept her.

"Gibbs," she said, coming up short.

"Abs," he said.

"Am I about to get my first Gibbs slap?"

"Why? Do you deserve one?"

"I'm sorry I kept this a secret," she said. "I just, well, you guys were busy, and this was really important to me, and I had Ziva-"

"Abs," Gibbs said, stopping her before she got wound too tight. "I'm not mad." She smiled at him and he almost hated continuing. "I am hurt that you didn't at least let me know. You are too important to me to be taking those kinds of risks and nothing else is too important for me not to be concerned about you."

Gibbs hated seeing the tears falling from her eyes, more so because he had put them there. He pulled her to him and wrapped his arms around her. "Don't ever scare me like that again." He whispered. He felt her nod and then smiled as he asked, "Did you at least get Tony a picture of Ziva in her habit?" Her muffled laugh heralded the arrival of the elevator and the two of them got on together.


End file.
